Secrets
by AmaraWinterFrost
Summary: Tony Stark agrees to take in a teenage girl, but doesn't tell her who he is. But after an attack at Stark Tower, he finds out something about her. Something he never expected. This was written by my bff Jasmyn and it is amazing.
1. Prologue

Tony POV

I parked my car outside of the "Home for girls" orphanage. Fury had asked me to meet him here.

"Why on earth would I want to go there!" I yelled into the phone when I got the call.

"I'll explain everything when you get here" Was Fury's answer before he hung up.

I never wanted kids. I had no use for them. They were a handful, bratty, trouble and I did not need to deal with that.

I walked into the orphanage and greeted the young man sitting at the front desk.

"Do you have an appointment sir?" He asked me.

"Yes. I'm here to meet Nick Fury."

"Right this way" He led me down the hall, into a room.

In the room, was a least a dozen beds, all were filled with sleeping girls.

"Over here Stark" Fury's voice came from behind me.

I turned to see Fury sitting in a large chair.

And this I could not believe.

On Fury's lap, was a little girl. She had to be no older than two. She was very tiny compared to him.

"Stark, I'd like you to meet Antonia Maria Cortex. Hey little one." He said to her. "This is going to your Daddy." he said as the toddler looked up at me, her deep blue eyes sparkling.

"Hold on." I was completely caught off guard. "You want me to adopt her?

"Stark-" Fury began but I cut him off.

"You know how I feel about kids. I can't take care of one, and with my work, who will watch her while I'm gone? And-"

"We have all of that arranged. Someone will be there to look after her while you work or need to go on a mission."

Who cares if everything's arranged, I still had no use for kids.

"Fury" I looked him dead in the eye "No"

Just then, the little girl, er, Antonia, leaped down from Fury's lap and toddled over to me. She wrapped her tiny arms around my leg and looked up at me, smiling.

I couldn't help but smile back.

I had to admit it, she was adorable. She had long wavy black hair, deep blue eyes, rosy cheeks, I might just take her home.

"I'll have to think about it" I said to Fury after he had put Antonia to bed. I stood there, watching her sleep. She was curled up in a way that made me want to pick her up a cuddle her. I gently touched her cheek, she put her tiny hand over mine.

"I'd knew you'd comply sooner or later. I can't thank you enough. I really need someone to take care of her. She'll be be here when your ready for her." Fury gave me a slap on the back.

I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

On the flight home, I began thinking. Why was Fury so urgent for me to take in this little girl? I figured she was in danger. But who would hurt someone so innocent and so sweet?

And why did Fury want me to raise her? Me. Out of all seven billion people in the world. Why me?

"Good evening Sir" J.A.R.V.I.S greeted me when I got home.

"Pull up all the information you can find on the Cortex family." I sat down on a stool in my lab.

"Yes Sir" replied the A.I. "There seems to be nothing available. Except for the fact that they were once agents on the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division'."

They were S.H.I.E.L.D agents. That explained a lot.

Whenever one of the agents had a child, the entire S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters went to great lengths to make sure these kids were safe.

I had never joined but always knew what was going on. But never have I heard you agent Mr. & Mrs. Cortex. I had never heard anyone even talk about them before.

Now I was going to take care of their kid? Was I ever going to find out who they were?


	2. Chapter 2

-Fifteen years later-  
I had been several months since Fury had put together the team known as the Avengers and at least three months had past since we all had to fight the aliens in New York. Now we were all living at Stark tower. I was starting to call it Avengers tower. We were like a family. But lately I've had this weird feeling. Something was missing in this picture.

I could not think of what it could be. I had everything. I had Pepper, I had the rest of the team. What could it be? Then I remembered. Fury had asked me to take in a little girl. But that was fifteen years ago.

With everything going on, The Ten rings, the Hammoroid attack, and now the whole alien and wormhole thing, I had completely forgotten about her.

"Why are you still up?" Pepper snapped me back into reality.

"Oh, um, I was just thinking" I said quickly.

"What could you be thinking about that would keep you up so late. It must be important" she sat down next to me on the couch.

"Yeah. Well it can wait."

"Tony. If it's that important than we need to talk about it." she said as she rubbed my neck.

"OK. A few years ago, Fury asked me if I was willing to adopt this little girl. Of course my answer was no. I gave her no thought after that. Now I have the feeling like something's missing in my life and so I've been trying to fill in that gap. I thought having everyone move in here would do the job. But it didn't. So I married you, and I still have that feeling like something is missing in my life." I said. "I think it's time we started a family."

"You want to have a baby!?" Pepper asked excitedly

"It's already been taken care of." I said "I'm going to go and adopt the girl Fury introduced to me."

Pepper seemed confused. "You mean, you actually want to adopt instead of you and I starting a family?"

"Pepper, one day I would love to have a baby with you. But this girl has waited fifteen years for me. I think it's time I made true to my promise."

"OK" Pepper sighed. "When do you plan on bringing her here?"

"I'll go get her right now" I said jumping up and grabbing my keys.

"Tony, it is three in the morning! She'll be sleeping."

"Well I guess she'll have to wake up then" I pulled on a jacket. It was late December, and was -2 degrees outside.

"Don't you think you should wait until later on? When everyone is up so we can tell them?" Pepper asked.

"Get her room ready, Pep. The one next to ours." I said as I stepped into the elevator.

00

Pepper stood in the living room. Tony had just left to adopt a girl. She figured that there was nothing she could say or do to stop him. So she went upstairs and prepared the bedroom for their adopted daughter. She changed the sheets and made the bed, and vacuumed and dusted and cleaned up the bathroom and stocked it with everything a teenage girl would need. She would also need some clothes. Pepper went online and bought just about every piece of clothing a teenage girl might like.

"What's going on, and why are you up at three in the morning?" Steve said groggily from the doorway.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Pepper asked.

"Kind of, we heard the vacuum and was wondering why you were cleaning up so early in the morning." Natasha said as she and Clint appeared at Steve's side.

"Well, Tony has done a lot of crazy things in the past, but I think what he is doing now has to be the worst." Pepper said "He's gonna go adopt a child."

"Why?" Banner asked, joining them in the doorway "I thought he didn't want kids."

"Apparently, he has changed his mind. Now this is gonna be her room and I might need a little bit of help." Pepper went back to work in the bedroom.

Everyone else was helping her. The clothes Pepper ordered came, and she and Natasha were busy organizing them. Clint, Bruce, and Steve organized everything.

Soon the room was done.

"Now all we have to do is wait for Tony to get home." Bruce said taking a seat in the living room. Pepper made coffee and they all sat around and waited.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony POV

When I pulled into the orphanage, I started having last minute jitters.

Was I nervous about becoming a Dad?

I was.

I was shaking. I did not want to be like my dad, who I never really had a good relationship with.

I kept think about the girl I was supposed to adopt. Was she going to be happy living with me? Not only me, but how was she going to be with the team. How were they going to be with her?

I pushed those thoughts aside. Whatever happens, I'm going to have to work with it. I had already called Fury and told him I was going to take her in.

There was no going back now.

I stepped out of the car, and drug myself in.

Toni POV

I was getting a good nights sleep, warm under the covers during that cold night when Mr. Sims, the caretaker, began shaking me awake.

"Get up Toni. I have something to tell you!" He said.

"What is it?" I asked groggily, turning over to face him. I didn't know if it was just me, or did he seemed really excited? I couldn't really tell because the room was dark.

"It finally happened. You've been adopted! Pack your things and be downstairs in ten minutes." He said as he left the room.

The light came on and the room erupted in cheers and I found myself leaped upon by my best friend, Evangeline.

"Aren't you excited?!" she all but screamed in my ear. "You finally get to get out of this place. Forever!" she squealed again.

I shoved her off and started to pack my things. The girls quieted down and watched me, kind of confused as to why I wasn't joining in their excitement.

"What's the matter, Toni? This is what every kid in this place dreams about. Aren't you the least bit happy?" Stacy asked.

I zipped up my bag. "Yeah guys, I'm glad I get to finally have a family and all. But..."

"But what?" Jeni asked.

"It doesn't feel real." I sat down on my bed. "I've been in this place longer that any of you. This is pretty much my home now. After I turned about twelve, I gave up hope of ever becoming adopted. I made do here. And now it's finally happening, I'm leaving."

"Is it nerves? That's what happens to all of us. Starting over always feels like this. Not knowing what to expect and all that, it's normal." Evangeline sat down on the bed next to me. "I suggest you start getting over that. Now"

She was right, my ten minutes were just about up.

I slid off the bed, grabbed my bag, and gave all my friends a hug goodbye before leaving the room. I met Mr. Sims and he led me down the hall.

Just before I reached the front desk, I realised that I was still in my pajamas, I didn't feel like going back and getting dressed. It was like four in the morning. What lunatic would come and adopt a kid that early in the morning? I got my answer when I reached the lobby.

Tony POV

I waiting for Sims to come back with the girl who was going to be my daughter.

I was anxious about meeting this girl nicknamed Toni.

Huh, just like my name, except spelled with an i, instead of a y. I had to think of a different nickname for her.

A few minutes later, Sims appeared in the hallway, and behind him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, was the girl who was now my daughter.

"Toni. I'd like you to meet Mr. Stark." Sims said, gesturing towards me.

The girl stepped forward. "Pleasure to meet you Sir." She said sleepily.

"Nice to meet you too, Toni. Let me take that for you." She smiled when I said her nickname and handed me her bag. "Well, I suggest we get you home. So you can go back to bed. In your own bedroom."

"Cool" she she said with a yawn as I led her to the front door.

She shivered once we stepped outside. I noticed that she was still in her pajamas, which was not appropriate for this type of weather.

"Here" I said, taking off my jacket and putting it around her.

"Thanks" she said softly.

She stopped dead when she saw my car, a silver Audi.

"What's the matter?" I asked, holding the passenger seat door open for her. "Come on, it's OK."

Toni shook her head. "It's too fancy".

"There's no such thing" I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the car. She sat down real careful and I shut the door. I walked over to the drivers seat and got in and started the car.

"You're going to love it a Stark tower, Toni. And guess who you're going to meet?" I waited for her reaction, but she had fallen asleep.

Well she could meet them when she got there.

I pulled out of the parking lot and drove my daughter home.

00

I had to shake Toni awake once we got to Stark tower. She had slept the whole ride home.

"Come on, you gotta wake up." I said gently shaking her.

I opened the passenger seat door.

"Hey, we're home!" I said gleefully.

She groaned unhappily as I pulled her out of the car.

I let her lean against me as we walked into the lobby and into the elevator.

"Good evening Sir, and guest" J.A.R.V.I.S's said over the A.I, making Toni jump and glance around nervously.

"That's J.A.R.V.I.S" I explained. "He runs things around here."

Toni just nodded.

When we reached our floor, she didn't even look around, she just laid down on the couch and was asleep within minutes.

Just then Pepper and the rest of the team came in.

"This is the girl you wanted to adopt? She's beautiful" gushed Pepper and went and stroked Toni's hair.

"I had no idea you would get a teenager. I think that's pretty brave" Bruce said.

"You said her name was Toni? How are you going to know if we are calling her or you?" Natasha asked.

"We're working on that" I said.

We all just stood around, watching my daughter sleep. She seemed so peaceful. Before we knew it, we had been standing there for at least an hour, just watching her.

"Well I think I'm gonna go back to bed" Steve said as he headed to his room.

The others did the same until it was just me and my daughter.

I was thinking about going to bed myself, but I couldn't make myself do that.

So I sat down on the couch, pulled Toni onto my lap, her head in the crook of my arm. I pulled a blanket on her and gently stroked her cheek and ran my fingers through her hair.

I could not stop looking at her, it was hard to believe she was actually mine.

I was a Dad.


	4. Chapter 4

Toni POV

When I woke up later that morning, something felt different. The first thing I realised was that I was strangely cosy. I also heard is weird hum in the left ear.

Last thing I remembered was that I had been adopted and taken to my new home. But by who?

I turned my head to see this blue light shining in my eyes.

Through the light, I saw the famous Tony Stark.

This was who adopted me. This was more than I expected.

I realised that the hum and blue light were from his arc reactor.

Question: Why was I so close to him? I could feel him breathing and everything.

I shifted to get more comfortable, that's when I realised that I was laying in his arms!

I had just met this guy!

I managed to escape Tony's embrace, he didn't wake up much to my relief. I looked around the house. It was still dark but from what I could see it was really nice. Much nicer that the orphanage. I was going to live here now.

I found a set of stairs, I'm guessing led to the bedrooms. I went down a dark hallway and found several bedroom doors. All of them were shut, except one.

I peeked inside, and found a sign on the night stand that read: "Reserved for Toni"

This was my new bedroom. It was huge. I had my own bathroom, T.V, stereo system, everything I could ever want. I might be happy here.

It climbed into bed. The bed was really cosy. I am going to love it here. My friends are going to be so jealous.

Tony POV

I woke up later that morning, kind of dazed. There was a blanket on my lap, I never slept with a blanket on the couch. Why was it here? I was guessing Pepper put it on me. But what was I doing that I ended up falling asleep on the couch?

I saw my bag by the door, it had papers sticking out of it, probably for work. But when I looked at them, they definitely were not from Stark Industries.

They said: "Home for girls adoption file"

Home for girls? That was an orphanage. Why would I have these?

I read further and came across a girl named Antonia Maria Stark.

Great name but I never had a daughter.

Below that said: "Legal guardian: Anthony Edward Stark."

So I did have a daughter. I must have adopted and totally forgot.

I went upstair to the bedrooms, one of the doors was open a crack. I peeked in and saw a girl sleeping the bed, covers pulled up to her chin.

This had to be her. That meant she was my daughter.

I walked over to the bed an gently kissed her. She moaned and stirred a bit in her sleep.

I looked at the clock, 7:30am.

I had a meeting to attend in about an hour. I went to go get dressed.

Pepper was already up and dressed by the time I got to our bedroom.

"How is she?" Pepper asked after we had our "Good morning" kiss.

"She's still sleeping" I said as I changed into my work clothes.

"Hey Pep"

"Yes" she said, turning to me.

"Do you think that we could Skype them meeting today?" I asked

"What. Why?" She asked very confused.

"I don't...think it would make a difference. We're there either way" I said shrugging my shoulders.

"What is it?" Pepper came over to me. "What's the matter?"

She had her way of getting answers out of me, I had no way around it.

"I don't want to leave Toni!" I exclaimed.

"She'll be just fine, the team is here, and J.A.R.V.I.S. She'll be safe as the president" Pepper said gleefully.

She clearly did not understand.

"Don't tell me your that attached to her already!" She could read me almost as good as Natasha.

"OK. If you say so" I had brought my daughter home only a few hours ago and I did not want her to be alone.

But Pepper was right, she had plenty of people here for her.

But there was one person we had forgotten about.

"Well you two are certainly in a worrisome mood today." a voice from the hallway said.

We both turned to see Pepper's nineteen-year-old nephew, Jason, standing in our doorway. After his parents died when he was six, Pepper took him in. He's been like a son to me.

"Hey Jason. I'm sure you heard that I adopted a girl. And Pepper and I have meetings to attend to and I was kind of uncomfortable with the fact that I was leaving her home." I said quickly.

"Don't worry, she'll be just fine. I won't let anyone hurt her." Jason said

I felt a bit better about leaving Toni home. But what would she think when she got up and found that she was home with a teenage boy?

00

"Tony!" Pepper called from downstairs, "We're going to be late!"

I was in Toni's room, kissing her goodbye. I left a note for her on her nightstand.

"I'll see you later baby" I said softly before I left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Toni POV

The sunlight streamed through my windows. I turned toward it. My room had a breathtaking view of the city. It was covered in snow.

"Beautiful" I whispered.

I started to crawl out of bed when something on my nightstand caught my eye. It was a note.

It read:  
"Good morning Toni. Hope you are liking to your room and, Hey! How do you like the view? Pepper and I had meetings to attend, so we won't be home till later this evening. In the meantime, Jason, J.A.R.V.I.S, dum-e, U, and Butterfingers, and the rest of the team will be there if you need anything.

Have fun, and stay out of trouble.

Tony/Dad."

I giggled at Tony's humor. I set the note down and headed downstairs. When I reached the bottom step, I saw a boy, with blonde hair sitting on the couch, he looked maybe, nineteen. Twenty at the most. He was watching T.V. and didn't notice me coming in.

"You must be Jason" I said as I walked toward the couch.

The boy looked up. "Yes that's me. You must be Toni."

"Yes. That's me. Do you live here?" I was trying to make conversation.

"Yes, I do live here" he went back to his show.

"Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you breakfast?" I asked as I headed to the kitchen.

Jason groaned and rolled his eyes. "You ask a lot of questions."

"OK I'll leave you alone now." I said as I went into the kitchen.

I started to search through the cabinets. I found some waffle mix. Where will the waffle maker be? There were so many cub boards in this kitchen.

"J.A.R.V.I.S?" I called out.

"Yes Miss Toni?" replied the A.I.

"Does Tony have a waffle maker? I asked.

"In the cub board in front of you" replied the A.I.

"Thanks" I said as I retrieved it. It was a fancy one too. The one I always saw in magazines. I plugged it in and mixed the ingredients together using this fancy mixer. I added a few chocolate chips to the mix.

Good thing Mr. Sims had taught all of us girls how to cook or else this kitchen would be a mess by now.

The light on the waffle maker came on. I opened it and poured the batter in.

Within a few minutes, they were done.

I put two on a plate for me, and two on another for Jason.

"Hm, these need something else" I muttered to myself.

I knew just what it was.

I went to the freezer and got out the ice cream. I piled it on the waffles, topping it off with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, and sprinkles.

Now this was breakfast.

"You hungry Jason?" I asked as I set the plates on the table. I'm guessing the answer to that question was "yes" because he got up from the couch and came over to join me at the table.

I was enjoying my waffles when I looked up to see Jason staring at his.

"I don't think Pepper would approve of this." He said

"Then this will be our little secret." I said

Jason took a taste of the ice cream. His blue eyes lit up, and he devoured everything on his plate in almost one go.

I stared at him. I was both impressed/disgusted by that.

After he finished his, Jason went for mine!

"Hey, those are mine!" I said pushing him away. But then I felt bad. "Take em." I said pushing my plate in his direction.

His eyes lit up again, and he ate my waffles, just as greedily.

"I see no one taught you any manners" I said laughing.

Jason ignored me.

I walked into the kitchen to clean my mess. But to my surprise, there were three robots in there cleaning up. One of them came and picked up the dirty dish in front of me.

"You must be Dum-e" said, taking a seat and watching them.

The robot stopped, and turned toward me and beeped a few times. I was kind of surprised, I did not expect it to answer me.

"Oh nothing." I said and Dum-e continued to work with the other two robots, Butterfingers and U.

I went back into the living room and looked around for Jason, he had resumed his show.

"Hey if you need me, I will be beautifying myself."

"OK" Jason said, not looking away from the T.V.

I headed upstairs to my room.

After I showered, I turned on the stereo system. It played one of my favorite songs came on, "We r who we r" by Ke$sha. Perfect. I turned it up to the max and I jammed out while doing by hair and makeup, singing along. This was the most fun I ever had while getting dressed.

I headed to the closet to pick out what to where. There were so many tops, jeans, skirts, and dresses to chose from. Somebody obviously went shopping for me.

I decided go simple, I put on some flare jeans and a strapless printed shirt. It may have been cold outside but it sure was warm inside.

I turned off the music. That's when heard a crash. Then I heard gun shots and screaming.

"Jason" I said

I hurried downstairs.

Was he hurt? I sure hoped not.

Was he the one doing this? He did not seem like the the destructive type.

I reached the bottom step. I was not prepared for what I saw.


	6. Chapter 6

Toni POV

When I reached the bottom step, I turned to see Jason standing in the middle of the room, a gun in his hand. Several men on the ground, bleeding.

Jason caught sight of me.

"Come here, come here" he urgently whispered, gesturing for me to come toward him.

When I reached him, he threw his arm around me, holding me close. I could feel his pulse racing, he was sweating and panting.

So was I, I was just as afraid.

Just then, shots were fired, Jason shoved me out of the way. A little too hard and I lost my balance and hit the floor.

I heard more gunfire that made me want to cover my ears and scream.

Jason landed on the floor beside me. But he wasn't moving.

I checked for a pulse. He had one, he was still alive.

"Just where did you come from?" A voice above me said. I looked up to see armed gunman standing in front of me. Dressed in black, a death symbol on his shirt.

He had his gun raised, aimed at me, ready to fire.

I felt powerless.

"Scared are we?" He asked me, his weapon still aimed.

I was.

Tony was going to come home and find both me and Jason, dead.

I could not let this man kill us. I had to fight back, but with what?

I heard Jason wince in pain, I felt something cold touch my arm. I turned my head and saw Jason handing me his gun. I took it and sprinted across the room. The gunman was on me in a second.

Stupid move, I know, but he was away from Jason, who had went completely limp.

"Bad idea little one" he snickered, "It may cost your life but," he lowered his weapon and aimed it at Jason. "Why don't we watch him die before I deal with you huh?"

"No!" I screamed. I jumped up and fired the gun.

I was aiming at his leg but instead, the bullet back through his back and he fell to the floor: Dead.

I stood there, shocked over what I had done. I had never even imagined of ever killing anyone. Not even my worst enemy. I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I also heard shouting. I grabbed the man's gun and stood in the middle of the room, my body being between the door and Jason.

More men did arrive. All of them just like the gunman.

I could not imagine killing anyone again so I made a mental note to aim for the leg or arm.

I shot all of the men, just injuring them and kicking away their weapons.

The last man had to be one of the toughest. He took a leap toward me, weapons drawn. I jumped out of the way. He landed on the floor, back to me. I kicked him on the back of the knee, I heard a crunch and the man fell to the ground.

I put my foot on his back, gun poised above his head.

"Don't move and I might let you live" I threatened.

Where was this team Tony mentioned in his note? I could use them right about now.

00

Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Bruce were in the Avengers living room just one floor down.

They heard the commotion upstairs.

"What is going on up there?" Natasha asked

They pulled up the surveillance and saw Stark's daughter, Toni with Jason's gun, she had it poised right above a guys head.

Clint recognized them.

"That's Castle's men." He said

Frank Castle, the Punisher.

"We have to get up there, he could be here any minute." Steve said urgently.

They all got suited up and headed upstairs.

Except Bruce, they were afraid that he might hulk out and scare Toni. And he was on the phone with Fury.

"What if she mistakes us for Castle's men?" Clint asked

"We'll have to calm her down until she lets go of the gun." Steve said as they reached the top step.

Toni POV

I was still on the guy, when the now badly damaged door opened again.

My eyes did not leave the man on the ground.

Whoever was here must not be here to hurt me, they moved toward me with caution.

"Toni" one of them said, it sounded like a woman's voice. "You can put that down now, we got him" she said.

So much was going that I didn't notice the how sweaty my hands were from gripping the gun go hard. My heart was pounding, I was breathing hard, I wasn't sure if I could let go of the gun.

"It's OK. We got it from here." Her voice came again, more soothing this time.

I wasn't sure if I could trust them. But I decided that is was safe to take a look at who these people were.

I looked up to see a women, with curly shoulder length red hair, dressed in a skin-tight black catsuit. On her right was a rather muscular man with sandy brown hair, dressed in black, arms exposed, a bow in his hand. To her left was a taller man, dressed in red, white, and, blue. He carried a shield on his right arm.

"I'm agent Romanoff" The women with the red hair introduced herself.

I did not like the word "Agent". It made me uncomfortable.

"OK, you don't like that word?" She said

Could she read my mind?

"My name is Natasha, but Clint here calls me "Nat". She gestured toward the man to her right, the one with the bow. He gave me a tight nod, his expression unreadable.

"And this is Steve." Natasha said. I looked at the man to her left.

"Ma'am" Steve said politely. Something about him put me a ease.

I didn't realized how much adrenaline was going through my veins that once Natasha took the gun from my hands, I nearly fell over, but was steadied by Steve's strong arms. He gently lifted me up and carried me to the couch.

Once I was off the man, Clint rushed over and arrested him.

Steve was looking around the room, something like astonishment spread across his face. "You took out all of these men?" He asked looking down at me.

I nodded.

"That's rather impressive" Steve continued.

"You mean to tell me that she did all this? By herself?" Clint asked, speaking up for the first time. "Fury's going to want to hear about this! Where is he by the way?"

"He should be here any minute now" Natasha said as she went to check on Jason.

Just as she finished that sentence, the door flung open again, and dozens of men rushed in, weapons drawn.

"Clear!" One of them said and they put down their weapons and arrested the rest of the men. Some of them groaning in pain as the were lifted to their feet.

That's when a tall, African American man, dressed in black comes in.

He seemed full of power, just by how he walked. He intimidated me a bit. It didn't help that he also had an eye patch.

With him were a man and a women, also dressed in black, stern expressions on their faces. I felt like running to my room.

"Director" Natasha greeted him.

"Romanoff, Barton, Rogers" he greeted them. His one eye shifted to me curled up on the couch. "And who is this?"

"This is Stark's adoptive daughter, Toni." Steve said since I was afraid to even breath with this man staring at me.

"Toni" he said stretching his hand out toward me. I stood up and timidly shook it. "I'm director Fury, and this is Agents Coulson and Hill."

"She doesn't like that word" Natasha said.

The man seemed to get the point and took a step towards me. "Phil Coulson" he said when we shook hands. "Your dad has been talking a lot about you, it's great to finally meet you. Oh this is Maria Hill." He gestured for the woman behind him to come forward.

"Hello Toni." Maria said, her expression still stern.

"Jeez, whoever did this deserves a prize" one of the men in black said behind me as he covered the body of the man I killed. "I got to say, you guys really take your training seriously".

He thought it was Steve, Clint, and Natasha who did this.

I wanted it to stay that way, the last thing I needed was all these people congratulating me.

But Natasha spilled the beans.

"Oh no, this was all her" she said pointing to me.

The room went silent.

I looked down but I could feel everyone staring at me.

"No no no no" Coulson said. "She couldn't have. I mean look at her, wait." He took a closer look at me.

"Are you hit?" he asked.

I looked down and saw blood dripping down my arm. So much had been going on that I hadn't felt it hurt till that minute.

"Rogers, take her upstairs and take care of that cut." Fury said.

"Yes Sir" Steve replied. "Care to lead the way? he asked, looking down at me. I nodded and led him to my room.

When we got there, Steve pulled a medical kit from a cabinet in the hallway. Good thing I was had on a strapless shirt so I didn't have to undress in front of him.

Steve sat down on the bed with me. I couldn't help but notice how handsome he was.

He had golden hair, blue eyes, a handsome face and a killer smile that made me want to drop dead. The helmet he had on definitely hid that.

"Tell me a little about yourself Toni" Steve said as he cleaned the cut on my arm.

"Other that what Tony told you, I don't think there is much else" I said

"Oh, come on. There's got to be more" he started to bandage my arm, his strong hand gripping my arm and wrapping it gently with the other.

"Yeah, there's always more" I heard Coulson say. I looked up and saw that he, Clint, Natasha, Maria, and Fury had all come up to my room.

"I would personally like to know the name of the person who trained you" Couslon continued.

"Nobody trained me" I answered. "I just kind of went with instinct. I knew I had to do something"

"Well I'm sure Jason is grateful that you saved his life." Steve said with a smile.

"Jason-oh!" I jumped down from the bed and hurried to the door.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Natasha making frantic hand signals at Maria who tried to grab me but I dodged her grip and flew downstairs.

I got there in time to see paramedics lifting Jason on a stretcher. He was alive! But he was covered in bandages, which were soaked with blood.

"Jason?" I whispered, running my fingers through his blonde hair. He opened his eyes.

"Oh, hey, Toni" he said weakly.

"I thought those men killed you."

Jason chuckled a bit and grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it.

"We have to take him away now" one of the paramedics said.

"You be strong for me. You saved my life once, I need your strength to get through this." Jason gave my hand one last squeeze and I kissed him on the forehead before they took him away.

I turned around to see everyone staring at me.

"What?" I said

"Is there something going on between you two that we should know about?" Asked Clint.

"Oh no" I said.

"Are you sure?" Coulson eyed me suspiciously.

I decided to change the subject. "When's Tony going to be home?"

"Awww, do you miss daddy already?" Natasha teased, making me blush.

Tony POV

Pepper and I had just walked out of a meeting when my phone rang.

"Aww look, she misses you" Pepper cooed as I pulled my phone out.

But when I looked at the phone, I saw it wasn't Toni calling, it was Stark Tower!

Something was wrong. Toni would have used her phone to call me.

When I answered, I grew even more afraid when I heard Fury's voice coming from the phone.

"Stark, there has been an incident at Stark tower." He said

"What kind of incident? Is my daughter OK?" I asked franticly.

"It was an incident involving your daughter.." he paused, as if what he had to say next was too painful. He sighed and then continued. "And ...The Punisher."


	7. Chapter 7

Tony POV

I almost dropped the phone. My legs went numb, several people rushed over to help Pepper steady me.

"What happened?" Pepper asked me.

"We have to get home" was all I said and the two of us rushed out to the car and told Happy to take us home ASAP.

For the first time ever, it seemed like the car wouldn't go fast enough.

I explained to Pepper what happened. That Toni and Jason were at the mercy of The Punisher, a coldblooded killer out to seek revenge for the murder of his family.

Fifteen years ago, he had shot and killed two of S.H.I.E.L.D's best agents, one got away injured, all of whom remained nameless.

And now my daughter was there when he attacked, I was just fearing the worst.

Toni POV

We were trying to clean up some of the mess. The door had been split in half, there was glass shatters all over the floor, place was a wreck. What would Tony think when he came home and everything was a mess?

So all of us were busy at work.

Me sweeping up glass.

Steve trying to fix the door.

Clint and Natasha were cleaning up blood stains from the floor.

Fury, Maria and Coulson salvaged what they could from the attackers and went back to HQ.

"HQ of what?" I asked

No one would tell me.

Tony POV

We jumped out of the car and raced inside once we got home. I was almost tempted to take the stairs, the elevator seemed so slow.

But the stairs were closed off.

When we reached the top floor, I saw that the place was a mess.

Everyone was hard at work and didn't notice Pepper and I coming in.

I looked around for Toni. She was sweeping up glass from under the table.

I became overwhelmed with relief when I saw she was alright.

I ran up and threw my arms around her. She seemed startled by this. But she saw it was me and calmed down a bit.

"I can't thank you guys enough" I said, my arms still around Toni, her head on my chest.

"For what?" Asked Steve, as he removed the badly damaged door.

"What else?" Did I have to spell this out for them?

"If it's the Punisher your referring too, we had nothing to do with that." Natasha said from the floor. She was cleaning up blood splatters.

"What do you mean? Someone care to explain?" I looked at all of them.

Finally Clint sighed and told me. He said that they had not even been there. They had gunned down Jason and were going for her, but she used Jason's gun in self defense.

"Don't worry about the mess you guys, I'll call someone to take care of it." At that Steve and Clint headed toward the elevator.

"Well thanks, we gotta head out anyway." Natasha said, standing up and walking to the elevator with Steve and Clint.

"Oh wait" Toni said. They turned around. I watched as she pulled a gun from her back pocket and handed it to Natasha.

"Take this to Fury if you see him."

"OK thanks" Natasha said taking the gun and she walked out the with the others.

"Tony?"

"Yes princess" I said looking down at her.

"Who were those people?" She asked

"They were here to help you. They are the-" I started, but Toni cut me off.

"No no, not them. I'm talking about the people who tried to kill me and Jason."

"Uh" I looked over at Pepper. She just shook her head. "We're going to have to talk about that later. OK?"

"OK" Toni sighed, and headed off to her room.

"Why don't you want to tell her?" I asked Pepper once Toni was out of earshot.

"Because, we want her to be happy here remember? If she knew what we had to deal with, with you and with the team, all your missions, she would so afraid." Pepper said.

And she was right.

If I were in Toni's shoes, I would just want to live life like a normal teenager, not worrying if my dad was coming home or not. Of having to hear that my dad had been killed.

Toni must live a normal life.

And for that to happen, she must never know about her attacker, the Punisher.

She must never know what S.H.I.E.L.D is.

But most importantly, she must never know that her new family is the Avengers.

Toni POV

I was about to watch some T.V when I suddenly had to run to the bathroom to throw up.

With all shootings and then all these mean-looking people, what a way to begin the day.

After I cleaned up, I laid down on the bed and pulled out a book.

Later that night, there was a soft knock at my door. "Come in" I called, Pepper stepped in.

"Hey, just came to let you know that dinner is ready."

"Cool. I'm starving" I slipped out of bed and followed Pepper downstairs.

The dining room was filled with the sweet aroma of barbeque.

I saw several people at the dining room table when we came in.

I quickly recognized Tony, Steve, Clint, and Natasha.

Tony was talking to a man with messy brown hair and glasses.

"I don't think you've met Dr. Bruce Banner." Pepper noticed me staring at him.

"Dr. Banner" I said politely when we shook hands.

"Please, call me Bruce" he said with a smile.

I took the empty seat between Tony and Pepper. Everyone else was already eating.

I didn't know what to do. We never had self-serve at the orphanage.

"What are you waiting for? Dig in!" Clint said, BBQ sauce all over his hands and face.

I grabbed a few ribs. They were closest to me.

"Oh you got to get more that that!" Natasha grabbed my plate. "There you go" she set the plate back in front of me.

It was crammed with ribs, chicken, corn, just about everything on the table. More than I could ever eat.

Steve pushed a tall glass full of soda towards me.

Everyone was staring at me, waiting to see what I would do.

I started nibbling at a piece of chicken.

That seemed to satisfy them and the went back to conversing with each other.


	8. Chapter 8

Tony POV

Toni seemed to be bonding well with everyone. She, Pepper, and I spent a lot of time together.

She was slowly becoming friends with Natasha. I think she was tad afraid of her. I didn't blame her. Natasha could be a bit fierce sometimes.

She completely ignored Clint. She said she thought he was weird. Whenever he tried to talk to her, she either walked away, turned on her iPod, or would blow him off.

I thought it was rude, but she would talk to him when she was ready.

She was forming a good relationship with Bruce, which really surprised me. I would come home and find her in the lab with him, just watching him and occasionally asking a question or two. To be honest there was no one else I'd rather her be with. Except for Pepper, but she was always working.

I also noticed that Toni and Steve started talking. I also noticed that they were starting to get close. Which was not what I wanted.

"He's too old for you!" I said to Toni one night after I caught her an Steve on the couch together.

"No he's not!" She argued back.

"Toni" I was trying hard to stay calm. I had just brought her home and was trying to bond with her. The last thing I needed her doing was dating. "You are too young to be seeing anyone"

"According to who's standards?" She folded her arms.

"Mine!" I said. I was her father!

"Fine. I'll go ask Pepper" and she left the room.

She was not one to go down easy.

After a few days, I had no choice but to give in. Everyone thought I was being mean. Clint said I was just jealous.

So now, every time I walk into the living room, I would see my daughter and Steve on the couch together either watching a movie or just talking.

It made me mad. I felt like Steve was taking her away from me. On purpose!

"What's the matter?" Pepper asked me as we were getting ready for bed one night.

"Nothing. Nothing" I said.

"Is it Toni and Steve?"

I sighed "I don't think it's fair. I'm the one who brought her home, I'm the one who's been taking care of her. I've given her everything she could ever want! And this is how she thanks me for it? By running off with Steve?"

"Oh Tony" she came over and hugged me. "That's not the way to look at this. She is at the age now where she, well, begins to crave the attention that we simply can't give to her. The only way she can get that is by forming a relationship with someone. In this case, Steve."

Perhaps Clint's right, maybe I was jealous.

"She still loves you, even though you might not see it because she is spending time with Steve." Pepper continued

"I guess I wasn't prepared for this. Well, I mean, I was, but didn't expect it to happen so quickly. What do I do?" I asked.

"Support her" Pepper said. "She is going to come to you for advice, and you need to give her answers, like a Father. But don't make her feel like she's doing a bad thing"

"Alright, I'll try."

Pepper could not be more right.

Even though Toni spent most of her time with Steve, she still greeted me with a hug when I can home. Or she would come and say good morning by jumping on the bed to wake me and Pepper, sometimes cuddling with us till we got up . I guess Steve hadn't stolen all her attention.

A few days later, I went over to Toni's room. The door was shut, just like always. I knocked lightly on the door.

I heard the sound of her bathroom door slamming shut.

"Toni?" I slowly opened the door and made my way to the bathroom. I heard the sound of someone coughing.

"You alright in there?" I asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she called out to me. "Just give me a minute"

I heard water running. She opened the door a few seconds later.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked leaning against the door frame.

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry"

"For what?"

"For overreacting when I heard you and Steve were dating. I don't know what came over me, it was hard for me to accept the fact that my little girl was seeing someone."

"It's alright Tony"she pulled me into a hug."That's completely understandable."

"So no hard feelings?" I said into her hair.

"No Tony, all is well."

"Another thing" I said, she looked up at me. "One day, you are going to have to stop calling me that."

"Calling you what?"

"'Tony', 'Mr. Stark', everything you hear everyone say when they are referring to me, that's what they call me. But you are my daughter, I think you should refer to me as something else. Have any idea what that could be?"

"Dad?"

"Yes princess" I said as I lovingly nuzzled her.

She giggled softly and wrapped her arms tighter around me.

I felt like she was my little girl again.

Like some father-daughter time we hardly got anymore.

But Toni ruined the moment when she shot off to the bathroom once again.


	9. Chapter 9

Toni POV

I was sick again later that week.

Bruce came and examined me. He seemed baffled by my symptoms.

"Strange" he said as he looked at his thermometer. "Vomiting but you don't have a fever. Severe nausea, and headaches."

"You have any idea what it could be?" I asked.

"It can be a lot of different things. I'm gonna have to run a few test to get a correct diagnosis. But in the meantime, you just stay in bed." He gathered up his things and left.

I had never felt so bad in my life. I was either having to run to the bathroom or unable to get out of bed.

There was a knock at my door and Pepper came in. "Brought you some soup" she set the bowel on my nightstand.

"Thanks" I groaned and Pepper left.

The soup did smell good, but I did not feel like throwing up again.

But eventually, I gave it a little taste.

I waited, nothing.

I concluded that the soup was safe and ate the rest of it.

Next thing I knew, it was morning.

A few hours later, I felt better and was able to get up and get dressed. I had been in bed pretty much all day, and wanted to get up and not waste another day.

"The soup made you feel better I see!" Pepper announced when I came downstairs. She was busy on her laptop, as usual.

"Yes. I feel a lot better" I said, dropping my dirty bowel into the sink.

I looked around the room. It was empty.

"Where is everyone? I asked Pepper.

"Your Dad and Dr. Banner are in the lab" she said, not looking up from the screen, "Clint and Natasha are still upstairs, and Steve is in the gym."

I decided to peek into the lab. I could see Bruce at his desk, looking through a microscope, different chemicals all around him.

I looked to the other side of the lab and saw Dad by a red car, busy in the engine. There was loud rock music blasting through the speakers. I wondered if that disturbed Bruce at all. Or maybe he didn't care.

I decided to go in but the door was locked. A keypad appeared on the glass beside the door. It said to type in a pass code. I decided to wing it. I typed in a number that I could remember. The door clicked and the music stopped.

"Please don't turn down my music." I heard Dad grumble as I stepped in.

Bruce was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice me coming in.

"Are you like a mechanic or something?" I asked as Dad straighted up to face me.

"Kind of." He said, wiping his hands on his already ruined jeans. "I'm mainly interested in the engines."

"Can you teach me?" I asked, I always wanted to work with cars, but never got too since Mr. Sims said it was for boys.

"Sure" Dad said.

I squealed and went to watch him. He let me tinker with a few things, explaining to me how they work. Pretty soon, my hands were just as greasy as his. I just wiped them on my jeans, I didn't care.

After that I went to find Steve.

I found him in the gym. He was using a punching bag, hitting it hard. I could hear him grunting with every blow. I decided it was best not to distract him.

Suddenly the bag flew past me! Steve stood there for a few minutes, panting. Sweat was dripping off his face. He wiped that away and went toward the bench when he caught sight of me.

"Hey. You feeling better?" He grabbed a towel from his bag.

"Yep. I guess it was just a little stomach bug"

"Good thing that's all it was. Banner could not really find out what was wrong with you."

"Well now, he doesn't need to worry. I feel just fine"

"I see you've been in the lab." He said noticing the smears of grease on my jeans.

"Yeah, Dad let me work on one of his cars." I said excitedly

"Did you like it?"

"Yes, it was fun. I've always wanted to be a mechanic but Mr. Sims said it was for boys." I said "But that's not true, girls can do everything boys can do."

Steve chuckled a walked out of the gym. I went upstairs a few minutes later.

When I came back into the living room, I was a bit surprised to see Bruce standing there. He gestured for me to come over to him.

"I have to talk to you." he said softly

"Sure." I said "What do you want to talk about."

Bruce took a glance over his shoulder. I followed his gaze and saw Pepper still working, only this time she was on the phone.

Not only that but Clint and Natasha were lounging on the couch.

"We should go somewhere private" he said to me.

"We can go to my room?"

"That would be fine"

I led him up to my room. I shut the door behind us and sat down on my bed. Bruce sat beside me.

"Toni, I was up all night running test and, nothing was adding up. I thought you maybe had a stomach flu but your symptoms didn't match any of the cases of stomach flu. So I thought it was a parasite of some sort, still, I couldn't find anything that matched your symptoms."

"I think it's just a common sickness, it'll pass."

"I wouldn't be so sure" he turned to face me. "Do you have any other symptoms? At all? Besides the vomiting and nausea, and headaches?"

I did have other symptoms. But I didn't think they were a big deal. But I had to tell him. Besides the frequent headaches, I thought it was because I was getting dehydrated from all the vomiting, so I drank tons of water. And I was also having to go to the bathroom more than ever, even if I just drank one glass of water.

The last few things I mentioned must have given Bruce my correct diagnosis. My nausea was getting worse, things I normally ate, like fried chicken, started to smell weird and I got the urge to vomit. I was also craving things I'd never eat. Like soybeans and veggie burgers.

"All those symptoms add up to just one thing. You just might be..." he paused

"Be what?" I asked

Bruce flushed a bit and started again. "You might be pregnant."

"What!" I almost jumped off the bed. "How could that be possible? Steve and I never did anything?"

"What if it's not from Steve? Did anything happen while you were in the orphanage? Anything that you can remember?"

Something did happen. But I never told anyone. I just tried to forget. But I had to tell someone, I decided that it would be him.

"I was sitting outside, alone, one day when these three boys approached me." I said "They seemed friendly, so I let my guard down. Then one of them offers me some hot chocolate. It smelled good, so I took it. After a few sips, I began to feel really weird. I told the boys that it was nice talking to them and all, but that I wasn't feeling very good and was going to go lay down. But I hadn't even made it to the door, when everything went black."

Bruce seemed to be considering this so I continued.

"When I woke up, I was in my bed. As if nothing happened. But my friends kept acting a little strange."

"Strange how?" Bruce asked

"They were acting like they were hiding something and were constantly distracting me whenever I tried to go outside."

"So they knew. But you didn't feel any different" Bruce asked

"Other than a small stomachache, I felt fine."

"So these three young men took advantage of you. But we can't really be sure if you are pregnant. Next time you go out, I want you to buy some pregnancy tests. Better to know now then to find out later."

"OK" I said.

We left my room and headed downstairs. Bruce went back into his lab. I sat on the couch and fumbled with the new tablet Dad had bought for me.

I heard someone coming down the stairs.

I looked up to see who it was. Steve. He had a set of keys in his hand and told Pepper he was going to run down to the store and asked if she needed anything.

What a gentleman.

"Hey Steve" I called getting up from the couch. "Can I go with you?"

"Sure. I mean if that's OK with you." He said turning to Pepper who gave her permission and Steve and I went into the elevator.

This was the first time I ever went anywhere since I arrived. It felt good to get out of the tower.

We drove down to the local pharmacy. Steve parked the car and we both got out. When we got inside, I asked him if he would show me the cosmetics. He led me a few aisles down.

"Thank you" I said and he walked away.

I ended up needing a basket for all my stuff. Dad had given me money and said to get whatever I wanted. I ended up getting nail polish, makeup, hair products and some sweet stuff like chocolate and cookies. And, of course, my #1 craving, soy beans.

I remembered my conversation with Bruce earlier. I did not want to draw attention to myself by wandering around so I went up to the lady at the pharmacy counter.

"Hi, do you know where I can find first response test?" I asked her

"That would be along the back wall, just at the end of aisle 14" she said.

"Thank you" I walked away.

When I found what I was looking for, I decided to go and find Steve. But then I thought, 'What would he think when he saw what was in my basket?' So I decided to just go and check out. After which I saw saw Steve come and do the same thing a few minutes later.

"Got everything?" Steve asked me as we headed to the car.

"Yes" I said.

Steve and I climbed into the car and went home.


	10. Chapter 10

Toni POV

I didn't take the test that day, or the next day, or the next week. I was too busy preparing myself for the results, and how to break it to Steve, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Pepper, but mainly my Dad. How was he going to take it?

I tried not to show that I was hiding something but everyone seemed to sense it.

Clint was doing everything he could to annoy me. The thing that really got to me was when I wouldn't let him in my room so he would come in through the air ducts. I would wake up most mornings to find him dangling just above my bed which was not what I wanted to see first thing in the morning.

Natasha kept trying to get it out of me by having little slumber parties with me and telling me her secrets hoping I would do the same.

Steve was being extra nice and charming.

Dad had several discussions with me, saying that I could tell him anything, and that all he wanted to do was make my life comfortable in any way possible.

Bruce jerked his attention to me whenever I said just the first syllable of his name.

Pepper seemed too busy to notice anything, but I could tell she knew something was wrong.

The next day, there was this loud noise. It sounded like an alarm, everyone rushed out at the sound of it. Everyone, except Pepper and I.

I noticed that Steve, Clint, and Natasha were in those clothes they had on when we first met when I had taken out the gunman, Clint and Natasha in black and Steve in his red, white, and blue. Dad was pressing some buttons on those bracelets he always wore. Bruce just left in normal attire.

They didn't come back that day, or the next. Pepper said they would be gone for a while.

A few days after they left, I was looking at the news. It was a story about the Avengers, my favorite heroes. It was so exciting to watch the brave Captain America, Iron man, Hawkeye, Black Widow and the mighty Hulk in action.

I couldn't help but notice that Hawkeye and Black Widow looked a lot like Clint and Natasha, and Captain America had the same suit as Steve. And that Iron Man had my Dad's voice. I didn't know what to think of this Hulk character.

A few weeks later, I decided to take the test. Pepper was busy, and no one else was home. I went into my bathroom and locked the door. But then I remembered the one person that knows everything.

"J.A.R.V.I.S?" I called

"Yes Miss?" The A.I said

"I need to trust you with a secret."

"Sure. What is the cause for this secrecy?"

"I'm about to take a pregnancy test. But I need you to promise not to say anything."

"It's my job to alert your mother and father of your doings."

"I know. But please promise you won't tell. I don't want them to be mad. And what if it's negative? I'll still get yelled at for buying them. They might make me and Steve break up."

"I don't know why I'm giving in, but you have my word, I will not alert Mr. & Mrs. Stark of this conversation between you and I."

"Thank you" I said before taking the test stick out of the box.

After a few minutes, the test result was ready. I took a minute to brace myself, preparing for the worst.

I picked it up.

My worst fear had came true.

The test read: Positive


	11. Chapter 11

Toni POV

I stared at the stick, horrified.

How was I going to tell Dad. How was Steve going to take it? What if Dad sent me back?

Mr. Sims would not have a pregnant girl in his orphanage. I might end up on the street.

This was too much.

I burst into tears.

How could this happen? I'm too young to be a Mom, I'm only seventeen, just a kid myself. I felt so unprepared for this.

In the middle of all this, there was a knock at my bedroom door. I took a minute to gather myself together before calling: "Come in"!

I threw the stick in the trash.

When I came out of the bathroom, I was more than relieved to see Steve standing in my room.

"Steve!" I said happily. He had been gone so long, and I missed him.

"Toni!" He said happily as he scoops me up into his arms and locks me into a kiss.

This was totally unexpected! We had been seeing each other for more than a month now and the most intimate thing we ever did was shake hands.

But I could not help but allow myself to be swept away by his charms.

"Oh I missed you" he said when we broke apart, our foreheads nuzzled together.

"I missed you more." I said.

"I don't think so." Steve chuckled before we kissed again.

I loved this guy.

"Were you crying?" Steve asked, noticing my puffy eyes.

I couldn't lie to him.

"I was. But I'm fine now."

"What was the matter?" He seemed concerned.

"Nothing" I did not want to tell him.

He pulled me over to the sitting area in my room and put me on his lap after he sat down. "Toni, I haven't known you for very long. But I know for a fact that it's not like you to be crying like this. Something is wrong."

I started crying again. Steve pulled me closer to him, my head on his chest. I told him what happened at the orphanage.

"Steve, I'm pregnant" I sobbed into his chest.

"What!" He was shocked.

"I took a test right before you came home. It was positive." I chocked through my sobs.

"Oh Toni" he hugged me even closer.

"How am I going to explain this to Dad?" I was sure he would be angry.

"Don't worry. I'll tell him"

"No Steve, Dad will not take it well if you tell him. I'd rather it be Bruce."

"Ok." Steve said. "Let's go tell him."

"OK" I slid off his lap and we made our way down the hall. We passed by my Dad's room, he and Pepper were having a "discussion". Something Dad about not giving Pepper a call to say that he was alright? I don't know.

I took a minute to wipe away my tears before we knocked on the door to Bruce's room, he opened the door right away. He had on a pair of jeans and a shirt, that was unbuttoned. I never realised before how muscular he was.

"Hey guys" he started to button his shirt. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Just came to say hi." I said with forced enthusiasm. "You've been gone so long, I missed you."

"Oh that's really sweet of you."

"Yeah, I missed watching you work in the lab." I said

Bruce sensed that something was wrong. He maybe saw that I had been crying.

"You OK, you look a little upset?" He looked directly at me.

I took a deep breath. "I took a pregnancy test about an hour ago" I began.

"And? The results were?" Bruce asked.

"It was positive."

Bruce seemed surprised/slightly upset. "Oh Toni." He hugged me. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I was hoping that you weren't."

"How far along do you think I am?" I really wanted to know.

"Let me see"

He told me to lay down on the bed.

When I did, he pressed firmly, but gently on my stomach.

"Well, I would say you're at about, maybe, 12-15 weeks."

"That far already." I sighed as I sat up. "

"It's a good thing you haven't started showing yet."

I thought about that. Dad would have panicked if he saw my stomach growing and no one knew why.

"How am I going to tell Dad?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that. We'll tell him." Bruce said

"When?" I asked

"Tonight" Steve said, putting his arm around me.

Tony POV

Bruce gathered everyone together later that night.

He said, something came up. Something we all needed to talk about.

Toni was asleep on the couch. I was about to go and wake her but Bruce told me to leave her.

"What could be so important?" Natasha asked. "It's very rare that we all have to be gathered together. Unless it's something to do with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"This has nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. It's about Toni." Bruce said.

Now he had my attention. Was something wrong with my daughter? I looked over at her sleeping on the couch. She looked fine me.

"I bet you've all noticed her episodes of vomiting and nausea. I was running some tests, but nothing was adding up."

Now I was really concerned. I'm guessing from the late nights he spent in the lab, it had to be serious.

"But earlier today" Bruce continued, "She helped me find the correct diagnosis."

Everyone seemed to lean in a bit, waiting for the answer.

He looked directly at me.

"Stark, your daughters pregnant."

Toni POV

I was sound asleep when a strange noise jerked me out of my subconsciousness. There was no talking,laughter, fooling around or poking fun, no one rushing out the door suddenly. No sound of complaints about Clint climbing through the air ducts, or Pepper and Dad having an argument. Or Steve trying to keep the peace. It was a noise I was not used to, at least not since I've been here: Silence.

I opened my eyes and looked around, the room was dark. I figured everyone had gone to bed. I decided too myself. I slipped off the couch and made my way to the stairs.

Something made me look over into the dining room as I passed by.

That's when I saw that no one had gone to bed, they were all at the dining room table.

All of them were staring at Bruce.

A mixture of emotions on their faces.

Steve had the same expression as when I told him I was pregnant, shocked/saddened.

Pepper had her hand over her mouth, her eyes glittering with tears.

Dad was sitting next to her, he had his head in his hands.

Clint and Natasha shared one common emotion: Pure fury.

Bruce must have told them.

"Which one's the Father?" Clint asked through gritted teeth.

"We don't know." Bruce said. "We'll have to wait until the baby is here then we can run DNA tests"

"But how will we know which one to compare it with?" Natasha asked, she sounded like she was ready to kill.

"That's another problem." Bruce sighed.

"Does she remember what any of these boys looked like?" Clint asked

"No, she said they all had on black hoodies, so she couldn't quite see their faces." Bruce said.

"This is just terrible." I heard Pepper say. She sounded like she was crying.

The room was silent for a minute.

"Well, she can always-" Natasha began.

"Abortion is not an option here" Bruce said, the calmness escaping from his voice.

"I was gonna say put the baby up for adoption." Natasha said

"That's gonna have to be up to her. By I highly doubt it. She was more upset about what you all would say than anything." Steve said.

"Stark, you've been very quiet. What do you think about all of this?" Bruce asked my Dad.

"Well" He said after a while. "She's pregnant, and.." he paused. "I'm gonna have to work with that. I know it's hard to accept but I brought her here to be part of this family. And this is not going to get in the way. Look at it this way, she's gonna be a Mom, you all are gonna be aunts and uncles, and Steve might be a Dad." I could tell he was trying to keep the despair out of his voice.

I was relived to hear that. I was all freaked out for nothing.

00

"Mr. Stark requires your presence in his bedroom Miss Toni" J.A.R.V.I.S said to me later that night. I couldn't sleep so I was looking at a magazine. Soft music was playing through the speakers.

I slipped off the bed and went over to Dad and Pepper's room. The door was open. Dad gestures for me to come to him. He pulls me into a hug when I reached him.

"I'm so sorry. I should have gotten you when we first met." He whispered into my hair.

"You did" I said

"No." He said "That was the only time you remember. I saw you when you were just a toddler. Fury asked me if I would take you in then, but I... refused. But now I'm starting to regret that. If I would have brought you home then, this would have never happened."

"It's not your fault." I whispered to him. "Don't be so hard on yourself.

Tony POV

Pepper and I sat on the bed. Toni had gone to her room for the night.

Bruce said she was at like twelve weeks now, maybe more. That meant she was pregnant when I brought her here.

"Why couldn't it have been Steve who was the father?" I asked in despair.

"Because he knows she too young and that it would have not been fair to her" Pepper whispered.

"I know. And I respect Steve for that, but," I sighed, "It would have been easier to accept. A lot easier to live with."

"I know" Pepper started sobbing again. I put my arms around her and held her close.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony POV

A few weeks later, Toni started to show a little, actually, a lot. We all felt a little bit better about the situation.

Pepper was having a little too much fun touching her stomach and giggling.

Natasha was ready to kill the paparazzi for her sake.

Clint acted like he could care less, but we all knew how he felt about kids, he had this firm but gentle grasp whenever he handled a child. Kids seemed to like him.

Steve got pretty excited when Toni said that she wanted him to be the Father.

Bruce and I couldn't be happier for her.

But Toni was not so pleased. Now that she was showing, she never came out of her room, not even for meals. She never went out anymore with Steve either.

"Because I look fat! That's why!" Was her answer when we asked her what was wrong.

"No you don't!" I said to her.

"The why do people stare at me everywhere I go?"

"The stare because their happy for you." Pepper said. "And so are we."

Our encouragement didn't matter, Toni still stayed locked up in her room.

A few days later, we got a call saying that we were needed on the S.H.I.E.L.D heli-carrier.

"We should bring Toni with us." Clint suggested when I told him and the rest of the team.

"Absolutely not. She can't fly at four months pregnant." Natasha said

"So, we'll get there early, show her around, and then have someone take her home." Clint said

His plan did sound reasonable.

Pepper seemed a bit hesitant.

"She might as well know. She's been asking a lot of questions, what's the harm in showing her?" Bruce said

I called Fury and told him that I was bringing Toni along.

"Shall I arrange for someone to take her home?" Fury asked

"Nope, got that taken care of." I said.

"OK, see you when you get here." He said and I hung up

"So, who's taking her home?" Natasha asked

"She is." I said

"How?" Bruce asked

"Don't tell her but, I got her a car." I said

"What?!" Everyone stared at me.

"When?" Clint asked

"A few days ago, she hasn't come out of her room in a while so I was able to go and get it without her suspecting a thing." I said

"What kind of car did you get her?" Pepper asked

"A blue Chevy"

"Oh she's gonna love that." Pepper said, smiling.

"I figured she would. Since, we're gonna be gone so much I figured that she would need her own car." I looked at my watch. "She better get up, we have to get going."

"I'll go get her." Clint said, heading upstairs.

Toni POV

I woke up to the sound of rapid pounding on my door. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.

I knew it was Clint. He was the last person I wanted to see.

Just then there was a bang! I jerked up and saw that Clint had yanked my door open(even thought it was locked) and was standing in my doorway.

"Didn't you hear me knocking?" He asked.

"If you can call it that." I said laying back down.

Clint yanked the covers off me.

"Hey!" I said as I tried to grab them back.

"You've been in your room way too long, It's not good for you, you need to get out of the tower. Now we have someplace to go and we leave in thirty minutes. You're welcome to come with us if you want." Clint said

He knew the answer to that. "Have fun" I said climbing out of bed but Clint gripped my arm before I could get away.

"Let me rephrase that. You are coming with us" he said.

Clint wasn't going to let me stay home. I told him I would be down in ten minutes. He left my room and I took a shower and got dressed.

I decided to put on jeans and a sweater.

I couldn't button my jeans so I ditched them and put on a jean skirt and tights.

The sweater did not do much in hiding my growing stomach. I was going to get a lot bigger so why fret about this? Bruce thought it might be twins since I was poking out a little bit more for four months.

I put on a cute pair of boots and went downstairs.

"Huh, right on time." Dad said when I came into the living room. "Actually a few minutes early."

"We all decided that we showed you where we work." Natasha said.

She was right, I had been a bit curious. I was always asking what S.H.I.E.L.D was, and why everyone had to drop what they were doing and rush out the door. Sometimes it was in the middle of the night.

We went to a diner for breakfast and then took a long drive to what Dad called the S.H.I.E.L.D heli-carrier, or whatever he said. When we got there, I thought it looked more like an army base.

Everyone went inside but I stayed outside, looking all around.

"What do you think?" A voice said behind me.

I turned around to see Maria Hill.

"It's so cool." I breathed

Maria chuckled. "Fury figured you would like it. Come on, I'll show you around."

I followed her to the edge of the bridge.

"Are those..." I leaned over further from the edge, "propellers?" We were already over water.

"Yes. Good observation" Maria said

"Is this like a submarine of some sort?"

Maria shook her head.

"This thing flies?"

"Yes, but we're under strict orders not to lift off until you go home."

That was true, flying at 30,000 feet in the air at four months pregnant could cause some problems.

"How long before you take off?" I didn't want them to be off schedule.

Maria looked at her watch. "About two hours, that should be plenty of time."

"For what?"

"Your Dad wanted me to show you the archives."

"You mean like a museum?"

"Sort of" She shrugged. "Why don't we get started?"

I followed her inside.

There was a bunch of people inside, all in these dark blue clothes with an eagle symbol on their sleeves, just like what Maria was wearing. All of them were concentrated on a computer screen. Just then a hand clapped down on my shoulder.

"Who gave you permission to be here?" A voice boomed from above me.

"Easy Agent, er, José. This is Tony Stark's adopted daughter. I'm showing her the archives." Maria said.

"So your the girl who took out those men who attacked at Stark tower." He let go of my shoulder. "I must say that was rather impressive. Archives are straight that way" he pointed to a long hallway.

I started to walk in that direction.

"I'll be there in a minute." Maria called after me.

"What do you mean she doesn't like the word 'Agent'?" I heard José say.

"Just like her Dad doesn't like being handed things, she doesn't like the word 'Agent'. It makes her uncomfortable. That's all." Maria said to him.

I did not hear what he said next because I had made my way to the archives.

It was so neat.

The first thing I saw was this huge tin can looking thing. No it looked like a suit. On the caption it said, "Iron man mk 1"

Iron man. I heard about him. He was the person who was kidnapped and held captive in Afghanistan, he built the suit to escape.

I walked to the next one. There was a helmet and a shield, almost like Steve's. The caption read, "Captain America".

The next one had a bow, like Clint's, only it was broken. "Hawkeye"

There were more weapons and pictures of deceased agents and their weapons.

But there was one that particularly caught my eye. It was a picture of a couple with a toddler between them. "In loving memory of Juan & Alejandra Cortex" the caption read. Next to it was the newspaper saying that they had been brutally murdered.

But it was unclear what happened to their two-year-old daughter.

I went down to the next department. This one had more recent events. Like what happened in Manhattan. I just heard about it on the news, but nothing else.

This gave just about every detail. Iron man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black widow, and Hawkeye, team known as the Avengers had fought and won the battle in New York.

The cause of it all was Thor's brother Loki. Loki in his thirst for power killed hundreds of innocent people.

"Interesting, aren't they?" Someone said behind me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to see Maria had joined me.

"Oh yes, this is very cool!" She smiled. "Who are these people? I would love to meet them."

"The Avengers? You've already met them."

"I have?" I was really confused.

"Yes. You live with them."

I stared at her in disbelief. She had to be joking.

"Your Dad, he's the famous Tony Stark/Iron man. Your boyfriend Steve, Captain Steve Rogers, Captain America. Bruce Banner, he's the hulk. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, master assassins Hawkeye and Black Widow."

This was a lot to take in. I was living with the Avengers, earth's mightiest heroes, and I didn't know it.

"Your cousin, Jason, thought all this might be a little overwhelming for you. So he just pretended to be a regular kid when you two met. He just so happens to be one of our... agents as well."

"Where is Jason now?" I asked

"He's in the medical ward."

"Can I see him?"

Maria seemed a bit hesitant. "No" she said finally. "He's not doing good. He might not make it."

Maria took me back to the place where everyone was hunched over a computer. She let me up some stairs, where Fury was standing.

"What do you think" he asked me.

"I think it's really neat."

"Stark figured you would enjoy it" he smiled at me.

"Well I must say he was right." I looked around once more. "So this is where Dad goes all the time."

"No, has his own company, he spends a little time there too."

"Does Pepper work here?"

"She just so happens to be the CEO of Stark Industries."

"Isn't that that huge weapons manufacturer?" I asked.

"It used to be." Just then Fury's phone rang. "I have to take this." He said to me.

"Don't wander off now" Maria said to me, I just now realized that she was still standing there. She and Fury walked away.

Why would I want to wander off? The view was great from here!

If I looked to my left, I could see the lab where Dad and Bruce worked. I could see them chatting with each other as they scanned computers and other devices. If I looked straight ahead, I had a good view of the ocean.

Clint and Natasha were somewhere.

Steve was standing around, talking with whoever was around.

After a while, I began to get bored with the constant sounds of typing and noises over the intercom.

Was there anything to do here besides just standing around?

I heard footsteps. This got my attention. I looked over my shoulder and saw two men walking by.

No one was looking so I decided to follow them.

We eventually reached a hallway, I saw one of the men take a key out of his pocket and slid it through the lock, it beeped and they stepped in.

I raced over and grabbed the door just before it shut.

I took one last glance around before sneaking in.

I looked around the room. I was filled with different boxes and cases.

One of them was opened. I went over to it and looked in.

It had the biggest gun I had ever seen. It looked dangerous. Beside it was a piece of paper, no a photo of a glowing cosmic cube.

"What on earth?" I whispered to myself, not wanting to be heard. "Wonder if Dad knows about this?" I slid the picture into my pocket.

"Who gave you permission to be in here?" A voice said behind me. I whipped around to find Phil Coulson standing there, arms folded, a stern expression on his face.

"Uh, uh, n-n-nobody." I stammered.

"I thought I told you not to wander off." Maria appeared at his side.

"I got bored. What is all this?" I gestured all around me.

"That is nothing you need to know about." Coulson said to me.

"Can you tell me what this is?" I pulled the picture from my pocket.

"Where did you get that?" Coulson took it from my hand.

"You left one of the cases open."

"We were using this to create a source of long lasting energy." Maria said.

I scoffed. Yeah right.

"I could be wrong" I pulled the gun from the case. Coulson and Maria both backed away. "But this doesn't look like long lasting energy."

Something like embarrassment spread across their faces.

"Or do you mean long lasting energy for weapons?"

"We should get you home, lift off is in thirty minutes." Maria said under her breath and she a Coulsen left the room.

I went back into the lobby where José was waiting with Steve.

"Ready to go Miss?" He asked me.

"You can call me Toni. And yes, I'm ready to go when you are."

"Toni, huh? You're almost have the same name as your Dad." He said as we made our way to the exit.

"Toni is more of a nickname." I said. "My real name is Antonia Maria Cortex."

The place went silent at the sound of my name. I looked around to find everyone staring at me. Including Steve and José.

"Did you say, 'Cortex'?" Someone said.

"Yes, that's what I said. Why?"

"No reason." Everyone went back to work.

I went to the lab. Dad and Bruce were still working.

I went up and threw my arms around my Dad, just like he did me.

"Oh hey" he hugged me back.

"I've got to go now. Just came to say bye."

"Ok" he gave me a kiss. "I'll see you later."

I went over and hugged Bruce.

"See you when we get back" he told me.

Steve was waiting in the doorway, he was going to be riding back home with me.

"Tell Clint and Natasha I said bye, whenever you see them." I walked out with Steve.

"Bye Fury" I said when we passed him.

"You can call me Nick" he said with a smile.

I didn't see Maria or Coulsen on our way out. But José was with us.

When we came out, I didn't see the car. How was I going to get home?

Just then, Steve pulls a set of keys from his pocket. "Here" he handed them to me. "This is for you" he pointed too a light blue Chevy.

I was so surprised, I had my own car.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" I threw my arms around Steve.

"Oh I had nothing to do with this, it was your Dad's idea"

"Well I have him to thank" I opened the car door and got in.

Steve and José started to head back.

I got out of the car.

"Hey!" I called. Steve froze. "Forgetting something?"

Steve came back over too me and we leaned into a kiss.

I heard José whistle. "Go on loverboy take your time" he teased.

After that they left and I drove home in my new car!


	13. Chapter 13

Toni POV

"Hello! Anyone home?!" I called once I stepped off the elevator.

"It looks like it's just you and I this evening." I heard J.A.R.V.I.S say.

Cool, I had the whole place to myself.

I kicked off my boots and made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed a pint of heavenly hash from the freezer and flopped down on the couch and turned on the T.V.

After a few minutes of searching, I settled on Prison Break and watched for quite a long time while enjoying my ice cream. This series left a major cliffhanger after every episode so I had to keep watching.

Before I knew it, it was getting dark. Where was everyone?

I heard the elevator doors open. I turned to see Pepper coming in.

"Hi" I called out to her.

"Oh hey Toni" she came over and gave me a hug. "Are you here by yourself?"

"Yeah, have been for the past few hours."

"Well your Dad won't be home till later. I think you should go to bed, it's after ten."

"No, I'll wait up for him."

"Toni, on a normal circumstances I would let you, but now," she put her hand on my stomach. "You're not the only one we're trying to make sure is healthy."

"I'm sure it's fine. I want to wait up for Dad, to make sure he comes home safe. Please can I stay up?"

I begged and begged until finally, Pepper gave in.

Tony POV

Everyone was beyond tired when we finally got to go home. Actually, some of them fell asleep on the way.

I stepped off the elevator into the living room. Everyone else groggily went up to their rooms.

I looked at the clock. 4:30am.

Pepper was still up, but she seemed really sleepy.

I went over and gave her a kiss.

I looked around for Toni, surely she would have gone to bed by now.

I turned to find her asleep on the couch.

"She refused to go to bed until you came home." Pepper said, appearing at my side.

I chuckled softly, she missed me I guess.

I went over to her and carefully picked her up. I carried her up to her room and tucked her into bed.

"Goodnight" I said softly and kissed her on the cheek.

I went to my room. Pepper was already in bed, I quietly changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed with her.

I laid there for a few minutes, just thinking. Mostly about my daughter.

Overall, she seemed happy to be here, to finally be part of a family.

She and Natasha had become like sisters almost. They would spend hours together, just talking.

Pepper was like a mom to her, but she still wouldn't call her "Mom".

She and Bruce spent a lot of time together, mostly in the lab. Other times they would be playing a game together.

I noticed that she and Clint were slowly, slowly becoming friends. He showed her how to shoot a bow and arrow, trying desperately to get her show some interest in him. It helped a little. Actually, she fired and arrow at his head later that day, which we all got a kick out of.

Clint didn't think it was funny.

And the other night when we were all watching a movie, she and Clint were sitting on the floor sharing a bowel of popcorn.

In the middle of it, Clint saw that she was getting sleepy and lovingly put his arm around her and pulled her close, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder. For the first time, she didn't make a scene and screaming: "Ewww get your arm off me!"

And then there was this thing with her and Steve. It was like she grew up right before my eyes. First she was my little girl, now she was Steve's girlfriend. And on top of everything, she was going to be a mom.

That baby, was all she and Steve ever talked about. Baby names, how to do the nursery, everything. But there was one more thing they were considering, whether they should get married or not.  
Toni figured that since Steve was going to be the baby's father then they should tie the knot.

So this was what being a father was all about, trying to figure out what was best for your child.

Something else had came up too. Toni was constantly asking when Jason was coming back.

I just told her that he would be OK. That he would pull through, somehow.

But that's wasn't entirely true.

Fury had updated us all on Jason's condition. That he was on his last leg, that he was every form of life-support there was. Pepper and I went to see him almost every day. He was slowly getting better.

I couldn't help but think that that would have been Toni if he hadn't been there. And then finding out she was pregnant while in such a grave condition.

I shuttered at this causing Pepper to stir in her sleep.

I pushed those thoughts aside and went to sleep myself.

Next thing I knew, Toni was opening the curtains, letting the bright sunshine in.

I groaned and put the pillow over my head. "Why are you up so early?"

She scoffed. "Early? It's like three o'clock the the afternoon."

I jerked upright. I had slept pretty much all day.

Good thing this was our day off.

Toni sat down on the bed next to me.

I noticed she was already dressed. She had on a pink sweater dress and tights.

"Where you headed?" I asked as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"Just got back actually."

"From where?"

"The doctor. I went in for a sonogram sound today."

"You what?!" I nearly jumped out of bed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was gonna wake you but Pepper told me to let you sleep."

"She knew I wanted to be there? What'd I miss?"

"We found out the gender." She said with excitement.

"And? What is it?"

"It's a girl!"

"That's...that's...that's" I fell back on the bed. "That's great!"

"That's not all." She said, giggling with excitement.

"There's more!?" What could be better than this?

"The doctor said that she thinks she heard another heartbeat."

"Another?! What do you mean another!?"

"But it turns out that her ears weren't playing tricks on her. Bruce was right, I'm having twins!"

"Did you say, twins?"

"Yep. We don't know the gender of the other baby, it was kind of camera shy."

This was as good as it could get, twins.

"Good thing I came and woke you up, now's time for the exciting part." She slipped off the bed.

"I think I missed the exciting part."

"No, the exciting part is going baby shopping. Get dressed, we're going in an hour." She left the room.

I was downstairs in about twenty minutes, everyone was in good moods, I didn't have to ask why.

"Ready to go?" Pepper asked me as the others headed to the elevator.

"Yep, I wanna be part of this."

We drove down to the local shopping center. Toni and Steve had it all planned out, we were going to hit first Target, then if they didn't have everything on their list then we were going to babies-r-us.

Toni didn't want to over do it. She knew I could get her the very best.

But she saw what I wanted to get and thought it would be better to go to a department store since their stuff, in her opinion, was way cuter.

We walked into Target and Toni handed us each a catalog, except for me of course, I didn't like to be handed things.

"Get everything I have circled in those." Were her instructions.

Clint and Natasha went to get bottles. Bruce went to get diapers. Pepper went to go pick out baby clothes. I went to get cribs and strollers.

Steve and Toni went and looked maternity clothes at other baby stuff.

Since we knew that one of the babies was a girl, we shopped for a boy and girl, just to be safe.

If it was two girls, had everything. If it was a girl and a boy, we had everything.

I passed by the aisle where Clint and Natasha were shopping, they had a cart full of baby stuff, so did Bruce, and so did Pepper.

A few aisles down, I could hear Toni and Steve arguing.

I went to investigate.

From what I heard, Steve wanted to buy formula, but Toni thought it was best to breastfeed.

"You can't feed them both at once." I heard Steve say. "And what if you're not at home and they get hungry?"

"Then I'll use this." She held up some sort of device.

"What is that?" Steve asked.

"A breast pump." She explained. "I can use this and store the milk in the freezer for when I'm away so all you'll have to do is thaw it out."

Steve just sighed.

Toni smiled and dropped the device in the cart.

I went to look at the cribs. I was debating whether to buy two, or one oversized crib.

I went with the oversized one. It would take up more space but twins were inseparable so they would want to be together.

After that, I went to look at strollers. I got two double strollers. Toni had one, and so did Steve.

We left the store with five carts full of baby stuff. Diapers, bottles, clothing, toys, blankets, you name it.

"How can two little people need so much stuff?" Clint said as we loaded up the car.

We went to babies-r-us to shop for playpens and diaper bags.

Toni decided that we didn't need playpens since someone was always going to be watching the twins.

She decided on a really cute diaper bag. But it wasn't manly enough for Steve so he picked a different one.

After our shopping, I asked everyone where they wanted to go for dinner.

Toni said she was in the mood for some Pizza.

Nobody argued with her.

After dinner, we headed home.

It seemed to take forever to unload the car.

Since it was so late, we just dumped everything in the living room and decided to go to bed.

On the way to my room, I passed by Steve and Toni in the middle of their goodnight kiss.

She seen me and rushed over and threw her arms around me.

"Goodnight Dad." She whispered.

"Goodnight Toni." I kissed her head.

"Guess what?" She said

"What?" I asked

"Steve asked me to marry him."


	14. Chapter 14

Toni POV

"Don't you think you're moving too fast?" Natasha asked me.

We were sitting in the living room looking at different nursery ideas. I was on my computer, she was looking in a catalog.

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Well" she closed her catalog. "You've only lived here for a few months. You have like three months to go before your due date. Now you tell me you and Steve want to get married? Don't you think you should wait until after the twins are here? Because, how is that going to look? Steve Rogers, Captain America, marrying a pregnant teenage girl?"

"We were just planning something small. No wedding dress, no big venue. Just something simple at the local community center." I said

"Oh" Natasha seemed a bit dumbfounded at this.

"I know that sounds crazy, you know with Dad being a billionaire and all, but we plan to do something bigger after the twins are here. If I feel like it."

Natasha was considering this when Steve walks in.

"I'll leave you two alone" Natasha left the room.

Tony POV

I was working on my suits in the lab when I got a strange phone call.

It was a number that I didn't recognize so I ignored it.

Then it calls again.

It must be important.

I answered it.

"Speak now or forever hold your peace." I said.

"Hey Stark. How ya doing?" A gruff voice said.

"Uh...who is this?" I asked

"That's not important."

Yeah right. I muted the phone. "Trace him." I said to J.A.R.V.I.S.

"You probably know why I'm calling." The voice continued. I looked at my computer, whoever it was definitely was in New York.

"But in case you didn't know, I'll tell you." The voice said. "You know, your daughter, Toni right? Took the life of one of my best men. And I just can't let that slide. She has taken something that was dear to me. I would return the favor but," he paused. "She was no one. So I will take what is dearest to you. Sound fair? Good. What she has done to my men, I will do worse to her. I hope you're ready." He hung up.

J.A.R.V.I.S wasn't finished tracing him but I knew he was somewhere in New York, somewhere near Queens.

I immediately called Fury and told him about the call. He said it we definitely Frank Castle, the Punisher. He said that he was going to do everything he could to protect my daughter.

Rhodey had gotten note of the message and had come over to see what he could do.

"And she's pregnant?" He asked.

"Yes, like six months now." I said.

"Tony, I will do everything I can for her safety. I'll call the whole army if I need too."

"I appreciate that buddy. I really do, but I think S.H.I.E.L.D has it under control."

"No, you don't understand how bad this guy is. Fifteen years ago, he killed two of S.H.I.E.L.D's best agents, and that was just because they locked him up in prison. Toni killed one of his men. It just makes me sick to think of what he'd do to her. We need to do everything possible to keep her from harm. More importantly because of her condition."

This really took me by surprise. Rhodey hadn't even met Toni yet and he was already this concerned about her.

We heard someone coming down the stairs. A few seconds later, Toni appeared in the doorway.

"Hey Dad, can I-" she stopped when she saw Rhodey and I talking. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll come back later." She started to walk away.

"No it's OK." I said and she came back in. "I'd like you to meet Colonel James Rhodes. He's a good friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you Colonel." she said politely when they shook hands.

"Toni" Rhodey smiled at her. "Your even prettier than I imagined. Has anyone told you that you're glowing?"

Toni blushed. "Yes, just about everyone."

"Your boyfriend has been talking about you nonstop. And now I can see why."

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." She said turning to me.

"Uh-oh, boyfriend trouble? I'll step out for this one." Rhodey left the room.

"So, is everything alright with you two?" I asked. This was very important since Steve was supposed to be the father of her twins. She'd had already been through a lot and I did not want to add "Single mom" to the list.

Toni waved that question away. "No no. Everything's good. It's just that, he seems a bit out of touch."

"What do you mean 'out of touch'?"

"Well just now, I was looking at cellphones on my computer and Steve asked what I was looking at. I told him I was trying to decide to get either the apple iPhone or the BlackBerry curve. And he just gave me this blank stare, like he had no idea what I was talking about. So I explained to him that they were different types of cellphones. It still wasn't clicking so I showed him. And then he said that apples and blackberries were just fruits when he was a kid. And this isn't the first time I had to explain modern technology to him. Like last night, he needed help with the DVD player, and before that, he needed help with the different remotes. How old did you say he was?"

"Well Toni," How could I put this?

"Steve is a little older than I said he was. Actually a lot older."

"How much older?" She asked

"Ummm. What would you do if I told you that he had to be at least ninety years old?"

Her eyes widened.

She shook her head "No, he can't be"

"Yes, he fought in WWII."

"Wow" she said finally. "He ages really well."

Then I explained to her the whole seventy-years-in-a-coma thing.

I know this was a lot for her take in but she had to know.

"Neat" she said. "I always wanted someone older and wiser. Seems like I got exactly what I wanted. Maybe more. I also came to tell you the date of the wedding. We decided to do it next week."

"That's not much time to plan."

"I know. Just want to do it before I get too big." She rested her hand on her stomach.

"I really think you should wait. I mean, just because you're pregnant doesn't automatically mean that you have to get married. If you want to do it when your a little older, than that's fine." I said "But right now, you're just too young."

"Well, I really want the twins to have a father, and with Steve just being my boyfriend, it doesn't really say that. And when the twins are older, what will they think when they find out their parents were never married? I would feel pretty insecure if that were to happen to me." She said

I decided to give in. Even at such a young age, Toni was a caring mother who wanted what was best for her children. If she thought that marrying Steve was the best thing to do, I wasn't going to stop her.

So the next week, Steve and Toni tied the knot.

We met at the community center and they exchanged their vows.

It wasn't much, and there were only a few guest. Me, Pepper, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey.

And everyone was dressed in casual clothes.

I rented out part of a fancy restaurant for the ceremony.

Well it wasn't a really a ceremony since there was so much work to do at home.  
After dinner, we went home and got to work. Steve and Toni were moving from their rooms to one big one since the nursery was also going to be in there.

We moved all the furniture in the big bedroom. Assembled the king-sized bed, and then began working on the crib. Clint, Bruce, and Steve pretty much did everything. I just sat back and watched them.

Toni POV

What a day! It was still hard to believed what had happened. I was finally married to the man I loved. But I kept wondering if I had made the right decision.

"So what's it feel like to be married at such a young age?" Pepper asked me.

I fumbled with my ring. It was beautiful. It sparkled in the light of the sunset.

"It doesn't feel real." I answered honestly. "It feels like I just fast-forwarded about five years of my life in a matter of just a few hours."

"That technically happened when you got pregnant." Natasha said. "You're still a kid forced to be an adult."

She was right. First a mom, now a wife. My life had taken a speed bump.

"I guess I had to do what's best." I rubbed my stomach. "Their moving!" I called.

Pepper and Natasha rushed over and put both hands on my stomach, giggling when they felt the twins move.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony POV

Fury called us all to HQ for a very important meeting. He said it was urgent. Pepper was still at work so I called Rhodey and asked if he would stay with Toni and we headed out.

Fury didn't tell us what it was about or anything. He said he would explain everything when we got there.

Last time I heard him say that was when he wanted me to adopt.

I was hoping this was not another kid he wanted me to take in. Toni was ready to pop for crying out loud!

"I called you all together because of what happened about three months ago. You remember, you brought Toni to the heli-carrier?" Fury asked us.

We all sort of nodded.

"Well, she's not in trouble or anything but she said that her last name was Cortex. Any of you remember that name?"

Nobody said a word.

"Well Stark." Fury looked directly at me. "When you got that call, I knew exactly who it was and why he was after your daughter. And it wasn't because she took out his best men. You know what? Let me start over. Let's go back about eighteen years ago. Agents Mr. & Mrs. Cortex welcomed their first child. A little girl."

Fury gushed at this memory.

"They" he continued "Much to my disapproval, began training her at just nine months old. It was funny to watch something so small get through every training session. But this is what her parents wanted, to see their daughter become something amazing. But now they never will. Shortly after, they sought after Frank Castle."

"The Punisher." Clint muttered.

"Her father, his name was Juan." Fury said. "Managed to lock him up for all his crimes and his countless murders. He was going to stay in prison for the rest of his life. But he somehow escaped."

"How did he do that?" I asked

"It's unclear how he did. But when he escaped, he was hungry, no starving for revenge. So he tracked down the Cortex's. After years of searching, he found them at a shopping center, along with their daughter, who was two years old at the time. Not caring that the place was full of people, he gunned down everyone in sight. Leaving only one surviver."

"Toni." I whispered. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did she survive? This guy never gives up until everyone's dead."

"If you know Toni well enough, you'll know that she is one good hider." Fury said.

"A good hider? How did she know to hide?" Steve asked.

"I used to play hide-and-seek with her all the time when her parents were off on missions. I figured it might be useful someday. Turned out I was right." Fury looked down.

"So she hid from him?" Natasha asked. "Where did she find such a good hiding spot that not even this guy could find her?"

"We don't know. Several agents rushed in after he attack and found her sitting by her parents crying and begging for them to get up. I was just glad she was alive. But she had lost everything. You know, just about every day before they left they would always say: 'We might not be coming back. This guy could be on to us before we can call for help. But if something did happen to us, please promise that you will look after our precious Antonia.'" A tear formed in Fury's eye. He quickly wiped it away.

"I made sure I kept my promise. But I couldn't' take care of her with all my work and S.H.I.E.L.D HQ ain't the best place to raise a kid. So took her to one one S.H.I.E.L.D's private foster homes, where she would be safe. By locking Castle up, her parents ruined his legacy, he lost lots of men. They said that they will rejoin him if he killed everyone under the name of Cortex in the S.H.I.E.L.D file. That, sadly, includes Toni." Fury said. "He knows she's still alive, I don't care what you have to do, you make sure he stay's away from her."

I wanted my daughter to be safe just as much as Fury and the rest of the team did.

And we were going to do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.

Toni POV

I was miserable. My stomach had grown to the size of a beach ball and I still had two months to go.

I never knew it could be so hard to do simple things like put on my socks.

My feet were so swollen that I just went barefoot.

I spent most of my time either in bed or on the couch.

Pepper had come home from work and Rhodey left.

"Can't this go any faster?" I groaned as I struggled to sit up. Pepper rushed over and helped me.

"Don't worry" she said. "You still have two months to go."

"Thanks" I said sarcastically. I was done with being pregnant.

"Want me to make you some tea? It might make you feel better." Pepper asked me.

"Sure thank you."

Pepper disappeared into the kitchen.

The tea seemed to put the twins to sleep and I was finally able to relax and take a nap without them kicking me awake.

Tony POV

"Guys, Toni has now entered her third trimester of pregnancy." Bruce said one morning. "And you may have noticed that she's getting a bit-"

"Mean?" Clint put in.

"Irritable?" Steve said

"Malicious?" Natasha said.

"So, you've noticed." Bruce said. "But, there is a way to make this go a bit smoother for all of us. Whenever she wants something, no one say anything, just give it to her."

That seemed easy enough.

Just then, Toni came downstairs. She didn't look like she had just got out of bed, she was now giving off what was known as a pregnancy glow. It affected everything, her skin, hair, and nails. She had definitely gotten prettier.

Now if only she had an attitude to match.

Instead of saying"Good morning" in her sweet voice, she growled at us when she came into the kitchen.

Instead of the healthy breakfast she usually had, which contained yogurt, eggs, toast, milk or orange juice, she grabbed the gallon of chocolate ice cream and a two liter bottle of coke.

Her cravings were getting crazy.

She devoured the ice cream like she had been starving. Me, Steve, Clint, Bruce, Pepper, and Natasha minded our manners and let my pregnant daughter enjoy her breakfast. We couldn't help but watch her. How could someone consume so much ice cream and soda at one sitting. Well she was eating for three.

Toni took a huge gulp of coke, straight from the bottle. "What are you all staring at?" She sneered at us and we went out of the dining room.

Toni POV

I noticed that I was getting more irritable and was snapping at everyone. I kinda felt bad but I couldn't help it, at least not now.

Late one night, the twins seemed to be challenging each other to a gymnastics competition. I could not sleep with that going on.

Oh, I would kill for a chocolate almond covered ice cream bar right about now.

I nudged Steve. He stirred but didn't wake.

"Steve." I whispered. Still nothing.

With great effort, I managed to kick him awake.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked groggily.

"Go get me some ice cream bars, please. The one covered in chocolate and almonds." I was trying to be a little polite.

"It's like two in the morning. Nothings open." He said

"The drug store a few blocks down is open 24/7." I said

He sighed and climbed out of bed, got dressed and went out of the room.

Tony POV

Bruce and I were in the living room working when Steve walks in, he was already dressed and was getting his keys.

"Late night craving?" I asked

Steve nodded.

"What is it this time?" Bruce asked

"Ice cream, as usual." Steve said


	16. Chapter 16

Tony POV

"Adam Sims has arrived sir." J.A.R.V.I.S updated me one day when I was in my workshop.

Adam Sims was the caretaker at the orphanage Toni was from.

He called earlier and said he had something to tell me.

I told him that he could come over.

I wiped me greasy hands on my jeans and headed upstairs.

Adam was standing by the barstools.

I could tell something was wrong.

"We found them." He said softly

"Found who?" I asked.

"The young men who got you daughter pregnant."

I was surprised to hear this. I didn't expect to ever find them.

"Their names were Liam Gates, Hector Finch, and Timothy Wells. All three of them were found dead this morning."

I couldn't believe it.

"You don't think the team has anything to do with this do you?" I asked

"I was going to ask you about it. Do you think it could have been one of them who did this?"

"No" I said automatically "At least I hope not. They would never do that. They don't even know who any of those boys are."

"I just came by to make sure. They were found with gunshot wounds on their chests and backs. They died instantly. But it might have been someone else. Toni was not their first victim you know."

"What? This happened to other teenage girls?"

"She was one of the lucky ones." He said, his head down. "They let her live."

Those poor girls, my poor daughter.

I made up my mind not to tell her.

After she went to bed, I was going to tell the rest of the team.

They were all in shock!

"And he thought one of us had killed them?" Natasha asked in disbelief.

"He was just asking since they were all found with gunshot wounds. And a few people here just happen to know how to use a firearm." I said.

"We wouldn't have done it, even if we knew. Imagine what that would have done to Toni. You know how she feels about killing people." Clint said.

That was true.

Toni didn't think that anyone deserved to die, even if they committed one of the most horrible crimes ever.

She thought everyone deserved a second chance.

To start over.

Toni POV

I was laying in bed that night.

I could hear the conversation downstairs.

So they had found the twin's father.

But that he was found dead.

Other people might have thought that he got what he deserved, but not me. I just think he wasn't in his right mind at the time and would come around soon.

It got quiet downstairs. Then I heard the lights being turned off.

A few seconds later, Steve came into the bedroom.

He quietly changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed.

I felt him put his arm around me.

I let several minutes pass by before I said anything.

"What do you think about the name 'Willow'?" I asked him.

"For what?" He said.

"For the baby." I said, turning over and wrapping my arms around him. "We already know one's a girl so I decided to pick a name. What do you think? Willow Evangeline Stark?"

"Stark?" Steve asked.

"Well I got pregnant before we got married so they are technicality Stark babies."

Steve seemed to be considering this. "Fair enough" he said finally.

"And Pepper told me today that she and Dad have been trying for a baby with no success, and I don't think it's fair that the Stark family should stop with them. But the next baby will be a Rogers. I promise." I said rubbing his huge bicep.

"I love the name Willow." Steve said kissing my forehead. "But what about the other baby?"

"Anthony Howard if it's a boy. And Brooklyn Isabella it's a girl." I said.

"If it is a boy, you'd be naming him after your father and grandfather, you know that right?"

"I know. I never met my grandparents. Dad never talks much about them."

"Well" Steve sighed. "Your Dad and grandfather never had a good relationship. He never wanted to be like that, which is probably why he gives you so much love and attention. Both of his parents were killed in a car accident when he was about your age."

"That's terrible." I whispered. "How'd Dad take it?"

"It hurt him very much. He loved both of them and had no one else at the time. But now, he's starting to rebuild his family, starting with Pepper, then us, than you, and now, the twins." Steve put his hand on my stomach.

So Dad had a family again. That made me very happy. But more so that I got to carry on the Stark legacy.

"Did you ever meet my grandfather?" I asked

I heard Steve chuckle. "Yes, I did."

"What was he like?" I asked eagerly

00

My due date was like three weeks away. It seemed like everything had gone by so fast.

In three weeks, the twins were going to be here.

I was so excited. So was Steve.

Everyone else, especially my Dad, seemed nervous.

It was understandable since I wanted to do a home delivery instead of going to the hospital.

We decided it was safe to go out shopping again. Just Pepper, Natasha, and I. The boys stayed home.

Steve was calling like every five minutes.

"I'm fine." I said after Steve called for like the hundredth time.

"Are you sure?" He said frantically through the phone.

"Yes" I said. "Or I would call you otherwise." I hung up.

"Let me guess." Natasha said. "That was Steve."

"Who else would it be?" I said

"Well your father has been calling no-stop checking on you also." Pepper said.

"I'm surprised Banner hasn't called." Natasha said.

That was true. Bruce was supposed to deliver the babies, surely he would be calling.

But we hadn't heard a word from him.

A few days later, Fury had stopped by along with Maria and Phil Coulson. Nothing important just hanging out.

We were all just sitting around and talking when I got this sharp pain.

"Whoa, easy there with the kicks." I said softly.

"Are you OK?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah I'm OK. Just a few cramps." I said and tried to ignore the pain.

It didn't stop, it just got worse. "I think I'll go lay down for a little while." I said to Pepper and headed up to the bedroom.

When I reached my room, the cramps got slightly worse.

I laid down in bed. But that didn't help one bit.

I shifted to my side. Nothing.

I climbed out and fell into the big chair by the bed. This felt so much better.

The cramps started up again. Now they were really painful!

I decided to time them.

Fifteen minutes apart.

Could I be in labor? My due date wasn't for another two weeks!

I got another one, I looked at the stopwatch, it had been only ten minutes! Now I was sure of it.

Not wanting J.A.R.V.I.S to distract everyone, I grabbed my phone and called Bruce.

He answered right away. "You're on speaker, speak now." He teased.

"Hey Bruce, I think I'm having contractions." I said.

The room went silent.

Steve spoke up. "You mean like "in labor" contractions?" He asked "You're not due for another two weeks."

"That's what I thought." I said

"How far apart are they?" I heard Pepper ask.

"Ten minutes." I winced as another one ripped through me.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" My Dad asked desperately.

"Tony!" Everyone yelled at once.

"What?" I heard my Dad say.

"She already said she didn't." Natasha said

"But it's what's best for her and the baby." He argued back. "And Bruce never specialized in the medical field.

"He knows what he doing." Another voice said. A girl. I never heard her before. "And we are doing what's best for her and the baby. We're staying home."

"Thank you Betty." I heard Bruce say. "Toni? You still there?"

"Yes" I growled. I did not need this. Everyone arguing while I'm in labor.

"Don't worry, we'll be there shortly. OK?" Bruce said.

"Just get up here!" I growled and hung up before I said something I would later regret.


	17. Chapter 17

Toni POV

I was curled up in the big chair by the bed when Pepper comes in.

"How're you feeling?" She asked me

"Not too bad." I said

"Contractions still coming?"

"Oh yes, a lot stronger now."

"We should get you into bed."

"I tried that. But it was just torture on my back."

"OK. Banner's on his way up."

The door opened again and Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Dad walked in.

Steve came over to me.

"Hey" he said softly, hugging me gently.

"Ready to become a Dad?" I asked him.

He chucked nervously.

I squeezed his hand as I got another contraction.

We tried several different poses to help with labor. Some of them, I read in a book. The one that seemed to help the most was when Steve and I were sort of slow dancing. I rested my head on his chest whenever I got a contraction.

About ten minutes later, Bruce and a brown haired woman I presumed was Betty came into the room carrying towels and blankets and other things for the delivery.

Bruce looked at me.

"You should be in bed." He said.

"I think they have a better solution" Natasha said, gesturing towards me and Steve, we were crouched on the floor now.

"OK. There's always something else." He said.

"Anything beats being in bed." I said.

A few hours passed by and the contractions started to get stronger. Steve and I had to try a different pose every few minutes.

I noticed that I was drenched in sweat.

I had to get out of these clothes. I was still in the jeans and blouse I had on earlier when we had company.

I stood up and made my way to the bathroom.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Everyone screamed at once.

I turned around.

"I'm just going to wash up." I said. "As you probably noticed, I'm a wreck."

"No you look fine." Steve said. He obviously didn't want me to go anywhere. He was also probably afraid that I would deliver in the bathroom.

"Thanks Steve, but I really need to change." I said.

A new thought occurred to me. "Where's Fury, Maria and Coulson?"

Natasha spoke up. "They had some business to take care of. They were kind of upset. They really wanted to be here."

"Oh" I said as I walked over to the bathroom. They let me go without any more complaints.

I went into the bathroom and shut the door. I could feel them listening to everything that went on while I was in there. A clear invasion of privacy if you ask me. But I understood their concern.

I took off my sweat drenched clothes and put them in the laundry basket.

I put on a black tank and shorts.

I was in the middle of washing my face when there was a knock at the door.

"Toni, can I come in?" It was Pepper.

"Sure." I said as I dried off.

Pepper stepped in and shut the door behind her.

"They didn't want you to be in here alone. They were starting to get worried."

"Understandable" I muttered as I pulled my hair back in a ponytail.

"You ready to go back out yet?" She asked me.

"No, can we stay in here?"

"Well Banner wants to keep close watch on you and he can't do that in here."

"I know, I'll let him know if anything happens. But we haven't been able to talk face-to-face like this yet. And I want to take this time to do that." I said.

Pepper and I stayed in the bathroom and just talked.

She asked me if I knew about the Avengers before I came to live with them. I told her that my friends and I would always talk about how awesome it would be if heroes actually existed.

I had several contractions while in the bathroom, but they weren't bad, so there was no need to call Bruce in.

She asked me what I was doing when the extraterrestrial attack on New York happened. She was just making conversion.

"It was a nice day, so we were all outside." I explained. "It was a little after lunch and my friend Evangeline and I were laying on our backs in the grass. We were just watching the clouds. Or she was, I was ready for a nap. Then suddenly she sits up and yells out: 'What is that?!' I looked around too but didn't see anything out of the norm so I brushed it aside. Mr. Sims started to tell her the name of a specific type of cloud. Then she screams out: 'No! That!' That's when I saw the wormhole. Then Mr. Sims ran inside. We continued to watch and saw all these aliens coming from the wormhole. Then Iron man trying to fight them off. Then Mr. Sims comes out and tell us all to come inside and watch the news, saying that we have got to see this. That was my first glimpse of the Avengers. Where were you?"

"On a plane. Flying out to D.C." Pepper said.

"You were always so busy?"

She nodded. "I work nonstop for your Dad's company, while he gets to stay home and fool around."

I laughed at this. Dad was pretty crazy.

There was a knock at the door.

"You alright in there?" It was Steve.

"Yeah, just fine!" I called out to my husband.

Neither of us said anything for a moment.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked Pepper.

"Sure sweetie." She said.

"Well I just wanted to say that-AHH!" I was hit with another contraction, I just about lost my balance, this was the worst one yet. Pepper rushed over to steady me.

"Just breath, just breath." She said.

I leaned against the wall, just breathing steadily until it passed. Then I felt liquid running down my legs.

"I think my water broke." I said.

"Then it's time to get out of here."

"Let me get out these wet clothes first."

Not wanting to be totally immodest, I put on a short black skirt and Pepper and I stumbled out of the bathroom.

Steve and Clint rushed over to help.

By the time we reached the bed, I was drained of energy.

"Guys, just, stop right here" I said as I got down on my knees and rested my head on my arms.

I could feel everyone staring at me.

I could do what I wanted. They weren't the ones going through labor pains.

"We're going to help you into the bed." Clint said in my ear.

He and Steve tried to lift me up.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I barked before I could stop myself, Steve and Clint both backed away.

I buried my face in my arms.

"We tried." I heard Steve say.

Dad came over too me. He gently rubbed my back.

"You know we only want what's best for you, baby. Please, you need to get into the bed. It'll make everything a lot easier." He said softly.

Sure. A lot easier for Bruce.

I refused to move. I bit my lip as I got another contraction.

I stayed in this position for a little bit. Steve, Clint, and Dad took turns giving me back massages. I think Dad did the best job. He seemed to know how to relax the stiff muscles in my back.

After a while, I heard Bruce mumbling something to Steve, I must be getting close.

"Toni, you can always lean back against Steve. I want you to be as comfortable as possible, but you need to get in bed." He said.

That sounded better.

I nodded. "OK" I said softly.

Steve climbed onto the bed, back to the head board. Dad lifted me into the bed and put me up against him. I had my back on his chest and my head on his shoulder. I had to admit, this was MUCH more comfortable than the hardwood floor.

"Excuse me" Bruce said as he lifted my tank and pressed his stethoscope on my stomach.

"Everything sounds good. Shouldn't be long now." He said.

Steve held my hand. "Need me to move or anything?" He asked

"No, stay just like you are." I said.

Something didn't feel right. Well apart from everyone watching me, it was too quiet.

"Dad." I called

He was over in a second. "Yes, princess?"

"Can you get me my iPod?"

He fished it out of the stash on my nightstand.

"Why do you want this?" He asked

"It's too quiet in here." I put in my ear buds and listened to Linkin Park: Numb.

Tony POV

My daughter had been in labor all night long. She was taking it like a champ.

She was covered in sweat that made her skin gave off this beautiful glow.

Natasha had read that childbirth was supposed to be natural and beautiful and Toni was definitely demonstrating that.

Before, she looked miserable, angry, and ready to kill.

Now she had her iPod and was doing better. She looked calm and peaceful.

"How is listening to music going to relax her at a time like this? Especially rock?" Betty asked after Toni plugged in her iPod.

I shrugged. Whatever made Toni happy.

A smile formed on her face. I looked at her iPod, she was listening to Gym class heroes: The fighter.

It fit, she definitely was a fighter. She had lost her parents at a tender young age, grew up in foster care, and has a murderer after her. She could have chosen to have a bad attitude, but she was trying to make the best of her new family. Even though we will never replace what she lost.

Toni suddenly gasped sharply and stiffened.

"Is it time?" Pepper asked.

Banner nodded.

Everyone shifted around excitedly.

Pepper was hugging me and squealing softly.

Clint and Natasha actually looked happy for once.

Betty was huffing nervously.

Steve was smiling excitedly, trying hard to keep still since Toni was laying against him.

"Toni? Hey Toni!" Bruce said to my daughter.

Steve pulled out her ear buds.

"Hm what?" She said opening her eyes sleepily.

"It's time. Whenever you feel a contraction, I need you to push." Banner said.

Pepper had the camera ready and everyone surrounded the bed.

Toni cringed at the first contraction and started pushing.

"Come on Toni! Push!" Banner encouraged her.

Toni groaned loudly.

"Good girl, I can see the head. The baby has a lot of black hair." Bruce said

Toni smiled. She started pushing again a few minutes later as the next contraction came, not stopping until the baby was out.

"We have a little girl!" Bruce announced.

The tiny baby girl cried as Banner cleaned her off. It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard.

Beside me, Pepper started crying. I put my arms around her.

Clint and Natasha seemed to be fighting back tears.

Betty could not stop smiling.

Banner wrapped the baby up in a blanket and laid her in Toni's arms.

Toni and Steve gushed over their baby girl whom they named Willow Evangeline.

"She's beautiful." Toni said softly.

"She's...just...perfect." Steve seemed to be at a loss for words upon seeing the newborn in Toni's arms.

A few minutes later, Toni gasped sharply and groaned. Betty rushed over and took Willow from her arms.

Now we were going to see what the other baby was.

Clint and Natasha had made bets.

Clint had bet $75.00 if it was another girl.

Natasha bet the same if it was a boy.

Now, they were about to find out.

Toni began pushing again. She seemed to be having a more difficult time with this one.

"Stubborn little thing." Banner muttered.

Toni stopped pushing.

"Don't stop now. You're so close." Steve said.

"Let her catch her breath Steve." Banner said.

He was right, Toni was breathing hard and needed a short rest.

She started pushing again. "Ooooh that burns!" She groaned as the baby's head came out.

She took this time to catch her breath until the next contraction came. She groaned and pushed, but this time nothing happened.

"Something's wrong." Banner said.

"What's wrong?" Everyone said at once. That was something no one wanted to hear at a time like this.

"The umbilical cord's wrapped around the neck." Banner said finally. "Toni, I need you to stop pushing, I'm gonna try and loosen it."

He was able to loosen it and Toni pushed the baby out.

"It's a boy!" Banner said excitedly.

This little guy had came out screaming! Banner wrapped him up handed him to Toni. He whimpered and squirmed in her arms.

"It's OK." She said softly and he stopped squirming. She lovingly kissed him on the head.

She and Steve named him Anthony Howard.

After me and Dad, how nice of them.

"Pay up." Natasha said to Clint. He lost the bet.

"Later" he grumbled. He walked over to the bed and Toni handed little Anthony to him and relaxed against Steve.

Everyone was gushing over the twins. It was a happy time for all of us. Even though they were two weeks early, Banner said they were just perfect.

"Want to hold her?" Betty asked, holding Willow out to me.

"No, I shouldn't." I said. I had no idea how to hold a baby.

"Here." Betty placed her in my arms and adjusted them to support her.

Little Willow squirmed in my arms to get comfortable.

I gently kissed her on the head. She opened her deep blue eyes that resembled her mother's.

She looked just like Toni when I first saw her, so tiny and and full of life.

I smiled at the newborn in my arms then looked at my daughter who seemed to have fallen asleep, her head on Steve's shoulder.

There was a light knock at the door. I looked up to see Rhodey standing in the doorway.

"Did I miss it?" He asked

"Yeah, you're about five minutes late." I said

Rhodey looked at Willow sleeping in my arms. "A girl?" He asked

"A girl and a boy." I said

"Twins?" Rhodey said

I nodded "Want to hold her?" I asked.

He nodded and I handed her to him.

"She's adorable." he gushed. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Willow."

Rhodey smiled "Where's her brother?"

"Clint has him." I said and called for Clint to come over so he could see Anthony.


	18. Chapter 18

Toni POV

I woke up the next morning not really remembering what had happened the last night.

The last thing I recall was my conversion with Pepper.

Everything after that was a blur.

I tried to sit up, I felt somewhat sore so I just used an extra pillow to support myself.

I turned my head and saw Steve standing next the oversized crib.

Why would he be looking in the crib? Unless I had the twins last night. Maybe I did.

"Hi!" I called out.

Steve took one last look in the crib before coming over to me.

"Hey" he said as he leaned in for a kiss. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel OK." I said. I looked over at the crib. "How are they?"

"Their asleep."

"Aw. I really wanted to hold them."

"They'll be awake soon. But right now, you need to rest."

"Oh I'm well rested, but I could use a snack or something. I'm starving."

"OK, I'll be right back." Steve left the room. A second later he poked his head back in. "Do not get out of bed. That is an order."

"Fine" I said.

I decide to watch a little T.V. After flipping through a few channels, I settled on Life Time. It was in the middle of a movie, something about a newborn baby getting kidnapped.

I watched for a few minutes. But then I thought 'Why am I watching this'?

I changed the channel and watched the news. That didn't help much either. It was all about the birth of the twins!

News around here did travel fast.

I didn't know this at the time, but paparazzi was surrounding every square inch of the tower, trying to get a glimpse of the twins. But they couldn't get in.

I changed the channel again and settled on Transformers, it just so happened to be one of my favorite movies.

Steve came back in with a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast.

I started to get out of bed to go sit at the little coffee table.

Steve gave me a look.

"OK" I climbed back in.

After breakfast, Steve sat on the bed and watched the movie with me. He seemed confused so I found myself having to explain everything to him.

A cry came from the crib and Steve rushed over.

"Shhh, Willow. Don't cry." He said as he lifted her out and gently rocked her. She didn't stop. He tried to put the pacifier in her mouth. She wouldn't take and cried even louder.

"She's hungry." Steve said, handing her to me.

I was about to try breastfeeding for the first time.

Steve went out to get Pepper.

She didn't need to be in here for this, did she?

But instead of complaining, I let Pepper, Natasha, and Betty watch.

"Aww that's so cute." Gushed Natasha.

I didn't see anything cute about this. But it did seem like I was bonding with my baby girl. It was amazing how much love I felt for her at that moment.

Now I kinda knew how Dad felt about me.

After Willow was done, I tried Anthony, but he was more interested in sleeping.

Later that day, Steve finally let me get out of bed. He had to help me down the stairs. He put Willow in my arms once he sat me down on the couch, she went right to sleep.

Pepper was cuddling with Anthony.

Steve went down to the gym.

Bruce walks in. He smiled when he saw me.

"You decided to get out of bed I see." He said.

"Yeah, I spent way too long in that bedroom."

"Well it's good to see that you're doing OK. You seemed really tired last night."

"I was." I said

"Well as long as you're up, you need to take it easy. Don't do anything that could cause you to get hurt. No lifting heavy things, no climbing stairs, take the elevator, unless of course, you have help."

"Sure." I said "Want to hold her?"

Bruce took Willow from my arms and snuggled with her a bit before giving her back to me and going downstairs to his lab.

A few seconds after he left, Anthony started crying. He was probably hungry now.

Pepper and I traded. She took Willow, and I fed Anthony.

Turns out he was hungry.

Clint came into the room. When he saw me, he turned and walked out.

"It's OK Clint, you can come in." I said

"Are you sure?" He called, still not coming in.

"Positive."

He came back in but wouldn't look in my direction.

Tony POV

It's so weird how much everything has changed now that the twins were here.

Before when everyone got up in the morning, they went off and did their own thing. Now, every minute revolved around the next bottle, diaper, or outfit.

I noticed that Clint and Natasha were rather grumpy because they hardly got any sleep(not like they slept anyway), thanks to Anthony crying every two hours.

Willow was the complete opposite from her brother. Even when she was hungry, she hardly ever made a sound.

"How do you know that she's just sleeping and not dead?" Clint asked.

"Watch." Steve said as he lifted Willow out of the crib and gently unwrapped her from the warm blanket.

"Jeez! And I thought Hulk's roar was loud!" Natasha said, covering her ears when Willow screamed.

Late one night, I could not sleep. So instead of tossing and turning, I got out of bed and went downstairs.

When I reached the living room, I saw Toni lounging on the couch, Anthony was squirming in her arms.

"He's not tired?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I think he does this on purpose. He sleeps all day so he can keep me up all night."

"Here" I said taking Anthony from her. "You go to bed, I'll stay up with him."

"No, you don't have to do that." She said.

"It's OK."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"OK. Goodnight then." She stood up and went to her room.

"So you like to keep mommy up all night?" I said to Anthony. He squirmed in response.

I was headed to the workshop when he started crying.

"No no, don't cry." I tried to rock him but he wouldn't stop.

I figured he was hungry. I went into the kitchen and got a bottle from the freezer and stuck it in the microwave.

In the meantime, I tried to calm him so he wouldn't wake anyone.

When the bottle was warmed up, I fed him. He drank it greedily.

After that, I burped him. He let out a loud belch.

"Good boy." I said.

I sat on the couch to watch some T.V.

After a few hours, I started to get sleepy.

I turned off the T.V and headed to bed.

Anthony had fallen asleep a while ago, so I put him to bed in Steve and Toni's room.

I went to my room and crawled into bed.

Before I knew it, it was morning. I climbed out of bed and went downstairs.

Everyone was in the dining room eating breakfast.

Steve and Toni were sitting next to each other, each one had a baby.

Toni was nursing Willow. Steve had Anthony nestled in the crook of his arm.

"Toni, do you have to do that right now? Why can't you go somewhere else?" Clint complained. He was tired of always walking in the room to see Toni breastfeeding. No one else seemed to care.

"Clint, if their hungry, it doesn't matter where I am, I have to feed them." Toni said.

"Well can't you at least cover up?" Clint said, looking down.

Toni rolled her eyes.

"I suggests you get used to it." Natasha said.


End file.
